German police have arrested a former member of the extreme-left militant group the Red Army Faction for links to three murders 30 years ago. Verena Becker had played a crucial role in planning and carrying out the murder of Siegfried Buback, prosecutors said.
The chief West German federal prosecutor was shot dead along with his driver and guard on 7 April 1977.
DNA evidence implicating Ms Becker was found on a letter in which her group claimed responsibility, police said.
The three victims were shot dead by two people on a motorcycle as their car stopped at a traffic lights on route to a Berlin court.
Ms Becker, 57, was arrested in Berlin on Thursday on suspicion of playing “an active role” in the attack, prosecutors said, although there was no suspicion that she fired the fatal shots.
Six murders
Although Ms Becker was arrested the month after the Buback assassination, after a shoot-out with police, there was insufficient evidence at the time to convict her of his murder.
She was sentenced to life imprisonment for her involvement in six other murders, but was pardoned by then President President Richard von Weizsaecker in 1989 and released.
The investigation into the murders was recently reopened when it was found that DNA testing could garner new evidence from the letter claiming responsibility for Buback’s assassination.
The Red Army Faction, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang, killed more than 30 people before breaking up 10 years ago.
Along with the principal targets of their terror - bankers, businessmen, judges and US servicemen - other staff like bodyguards and drivers were also gunned down.
In one case, the head of a bank was assassinated at his home, after being presented with a bunch of flowers by the killers.