Clemency or Not?

There's no question that Christian Klar was one of the most determined and brutal of all the Red Army Faction terrorists. His arrest in November 1982 sent a wave of relief through the public -- and it's no wonder, considering the trail of blood the RAF had already left behind.

Christian Klar has not been pardoned. He will remain in prison for the rest of his minimum term of 26 years, until January 2009. German President Horst Köhler no doubt gave his decision careful consideration.

He consulted with German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries and Chief Federal Prosecutor Monika Harms about the issue. He reviewed an expert report on Klar. He spoke with family members of RAF victims, and he spoke with Klar himself.

Not the easy route

Köhler did not take the easy way out, and that in itself is reason to wish that he would not have reaped the senseless criticism that he did from his own Christian Democratic party, as well as the threats that he would not be re-elected if he pardoned Klar.

So Köhler denied Klar clemency, and even though the president is free to make his own choices, one could consider this one a mistake.

The expert who evaluated Klar considered it unlikely that the 54-year-old former terrorist would use weapons again against representatives of the economic and political elite. It is also improbable that that estimation will change in the next year and a half when Klar becomes eligible for parole.

One may consider Klar to be blinded by his aversion to the capitalistic system -- a stance he will presumably keep -- but that is not a crime.

Tumult

What of course remains significant are the feelings of the families of RAF victims. However, a human life can never be valued in numbers -- not with 24, but also not with the 26-year jail term that the culprit received for extinguishing that life.

German society was indeed thrown into a crisis by the terrorist acts of the RAF 30 years ago. The terrorists, the murderers and the kidnappers all came from the heart of that society.

And given the force of the debate about Klar's plea for clemency, a sense of the rift of those former times can still be felt today. Perhaps a pardon for Klar could have helped to bridge that gap. After all, it's bit ironic that, of all people, a decisive enemy of the state would appeal to the highest ranking individual of this state once so bloodily contested.

Heinz Dylong is an editor at DW-RADIO (als).