Red Army killer is freed from prison

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A German court today approved the release from jail of Klar, who was a prominent figure in the terror group also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang.

Klar - now aged 56 - is serving five life terms but will have served the minimum required 26 years by January.

The court in Stuttgart said there were no grounds to keep him in custody beyond that date.

Klar was a leader of the radical Left-wing group, which was involved in a wave of high-profile killings in the Seventies and Eighties, targeting bankers, businessmen, judges and US servicemen.

Klar was arrested in 1982 and later convicted of nine murders and 11 attempted murders.

The Red Army Faction's extremist stance endeared them to many younger Germans, who shared their hatred over issues including alleged police brutality at home and, overseas, the war in Vietnam. But the savage nature of many of their crimes shocked other observers. The group is believed to have killed 34 people between 1970 and 1991.

Klar's case fanned heated debate last year when President Horst Koehler considered a request to pardon him.

The legacy of the Red Army Faction continues to fascinate. A new film, the Baader-Meinhof Complex, has divided opinion in Germany, where it has won critical praise and become a box-office success.

The film, which is accused of glamourising terror, was picked as an entry for best foreign language film at the 2009 Academy Awards. It is currently on release in Britain.