Burkhard Garweg, one of Germany’s most wanted suspected terrorists, is reportedly making his first appearance from the underground. In a letter, the alleged RAF terrorist describes himself as “part of the revolutionary left” according to the “Wochenzeitung” in its Saturday edition.
The newspaper claims to have the letter exclusively and has verified its authenticity, with Garweg’s lawyers also confirming it, although external verification was not sought.
Assuming the letter is genuine, Garweg does not comment on the RAF’s actions, but defends them as a “revolutionary counter-movement” against the “structural violence of the system.” The letter does not mention his current whereabouts.
Garweg is believed to be the third and last generation of the RAF, with ten deaths attributed to the group, which dissolved in 1998. The LKA Niedersachsen is currently searching for him, as he, along with Daniela Klette and Ernst-Volker Staub, is suspected of committing 13, sometimes severe, bank robberies from 1999 to 2016 to finance their life in the underground.
In the letter allegedly written by Garweg, the author does not directly admit to these bank robberies, but states that it was “excluded for us” to harm people to get money. “Any traumatization of cash office employees or money transport workers is regrettable.”
The author also apologizes to former acquaintances, such as the residents of a Berlin-Friedrichshain construction site where Garweg allegedly lived under a false identity for several years. He regrets not revealing his true identity to the residents and the recent searches, saying he never wanted them to happen.
The author criticizes the arrest of Daniela Klette in February in Berlin and joins demands for her release. He also expresses solidarity with contemporary left and radical movements, including the Kurdish PKK, the climate movement, and the Antifa.
The public prosecutor in Verden has recently filed charges against Klette for the 13 bank robberies, and the trial is scheduled to begin in the spring. The whereabouts of Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub remain unknown to the investigators.