Early Releases Debated

In 1977, the Red Army Faction (RAF) went on the offensive. As part of their plan to instigate a communist uprising in what was then West Germany, the group murdered Hanns Martin Schleyer, head of the West German employers' federation, Jürgen Ponto, head of Dresdner Bank, and Attorney General Siegfried Buback.

RAF leader Brigitte Mohnhaupt was sentenced to five times life in prison plus 15 years. After serving 24 years, the Federal Prosecutor's Office proposed Monday that she be released early.

The court's decision will be announced in early February and the ex-terrorist could go free as early as March, when her minimum sentence of 24 years is up.

"No longer a threat"

Berlin's Tagesspiegel daily called the situation "an excursion into the Paleozoic era of German terrorism that the regional appeals court in Stuttgart has to undertake." The courts don't deal with the Red Army Faction very often anymore, wrote the paper. Mohnhaupt is one of four former RAF members still serving time.

"According to all the parameters that the constitutional state has at its disposal (she) has earned a second chance," continued Tagesspiegel. "The now 57-year-old is no longer a threat to society."

Even if Mohnhaupt were still harboring extremist sentiment, she could not return to the RAF. It disbanded in 1998, after having caused 34 deaths. An additional 27 from the RAF's own ranks had also been killed or died.

"Let's look at the issue matter-of-factly: According to criminal law, remorse is not a prerequisite for early release," commented the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper. "The main criteria is that the offender no longer poses a threat. Therefore, Brigitte Mohnhaupt's case is clear."

"Reconciliation takes two"

Christian Klar's situation is not so easy, continued the paper. Klar, who the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung referred to as the RAF's "cold implementer," has also served 24 years but has two more to go to fulfill his minimum sentence, which will expire in January 2007.

Klar has petitioned President Horst Köhler for an early pardon, which, for some, makes the question of remorse even more relevant.

"For such an act, remorse would be very helpful," wrote the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, referring to a possible presidential pardon. "So far, Klar hasn't shown any. Reconciliation always takes both parties."

The left-wing parties have shown support for the pardon, continued the paper, which would not be the first among former RAF members. Former German presidents Richard von Weizsäcker, Roman Herzog and Johannes Rau have all pardoned RAF terrorists.

"The state doesn't mourn"

"The president can and should demand an apology from him -- at the very least out of respect for the victim's families," wrote the tageszeitung daily. "If Klar is too proud for an apology, then he'll get the regular court-ordered release -- two years from now."

Though the Tagesspiegel conceded that the president's decision to pardon Klar would be a delicate one, especially considering the approaching 30th anniversary of the murders, the paper added that "it is one of the state's greatest accomplishments that it can position itself between the offender and the victim."

"It is not the state's job to mourn," continued the paper. "Revenge cannot be its motive."