A Germany court ordered on Monday that Christian Klar, a leader of the terrorist Red Army Faction (RAF), will be released in January next year after jailed for 26 years.
The High Court in southwestern German city of Stuttgart made the ruling as it believed that Klar, 56, no longer presented a danger to society.
The RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, launched terrorist campaign from 1977 to 1982 against what it called the oppressive capitalist state of West Germany.
The RAF targeted the German elite and the U.S. military based in Germany and was accused of committing over 30 murders and kidnappings. The group officially dissolved itself in 1998.
Klar co-led the RAF after its founders Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof were captured.
In 1982, Klar was arrested and later was sentenced to life for nine murders, including the 1977 shooting of prosecutor-general Siegfried Buback and the abduction and murder the same year of employers' federation chief Hanns-Martin Schleyer.
Last year, Klar outraged many Germans by issuing a call from jail for the downfall of capitalism. On the same year, German President Horst Koehler declined to grant clemency to Klar, on the ground that he had failed to show remorse.
On Monday, the Stuttgart court ordered Klar must serve a minimum of 26 years, which ends on January 3, 2009.
According to local media, two other RAF leaders were freed last year after serving long prison terms.
Eva Haule was released in August this year after serving 21 years for murder. Brigitte Mohnhaupt was freed in March after serving a 24-year-sentence for her role in the murders of prominent officials in 1977 aimed at securing the release of Baader and two fellow terrorists.
Source:Xinhua
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