Rolf Clemens Wagner
Encyclopedia
Rolf Clemens Wagner is a former member of the Red Army Faction
(RAF).
On the 19 November 1979, Wagner was arrested in Zurich
.
.
In 2003 president
Johannes Rau
pardoned Wagner, who was then 59 and suffering from ill-health.
Wagner caused controversy again in October 2007 when he made a statement about his previous crimes;
Many members of German society were outraged at Wagner’s remarks, such as Rupert Scholz
, the former Federal
Minister of Defense who called for Wagner to be charged with “speech encouraging criminality.”
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
(RAF).
Terrorism
Wagner carried out most of his terrorists actions in the 70s, and became an active member of the second generation RAF. Some of the major points of his terrorist career are listed below;- Suspected active role in the kidnap-murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Hanns-Martin Schleyer, September 1977. - In May 1978, Wagner was arrested in YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
(alongside Brigitte MohnhauptBrigitte MohnhauptBrigitte Margret Ida Mohnhaupt is a German militant associated with the second generation of the Red Army Faction members. She was also part of the Socialist Patients' Collective...
, Peter-Jurgen BoockPeter-Jürgen BoockPeter-Jürgen Boock is a former member of the Red Army Faction.-Earlier life:After completing secondary school, Boock began training as a mechanic but soon quit. Claiming that his father was a staunch Nazi, Boock then left his parents’ home and travelled to the Netherlands...
and Sieglinde HofmannSieglinde HofmannSieglinde Hofmann was a militant and member of both the Socialist Patients' Collective and the Red Army Faction.-Biography:...
), and faced extradition to West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. He was released however, and allowed to travel to a country of his choice because West Germany turned down an offer from Yugoslavia to extradite them in exchange for eight CroatianCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
political fugitives in West Germany. It is thought that Wagner travelled to YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. - In June 1979 Wagner took part in the failed assassination attempt on NATO CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Alexander HaigAlexander HaigAlexander Meigs Haig, Jr. was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
. - In November later that year, he was involved in a bank raidBank robberyBank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
in a Swiss volksbankVolksbankVolksbank was founded in 1850 and is a retail bank in Central Europe based in Vienna, Austria. It currently operates in Austria, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.There are also 1,156 independent local...
, where a policeman was shot and seriously injured, and an innocent bystander (housewife Edith Kletzhandler) died when she was hit in the throat by a ricochetRicochetA ricochet is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. The possibility of ricochet is one of the reasons for the common firearms safety rule "Never shoot at a flat, hard surface."-Variables:...
ing bullet.
On the 19 November 1979, Wagner was arrested in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
.
Imprisonment and Release
Wagner was extradited to West Germany, and in 1985 he was charged with twice life in prison for murder. His sentence was extended however when another RAF member, Werner Lotze, made a statement implicating Wagner in the Haig attack, and he was sentenced to another 12 years imprisonmentImprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
.
In 2003 president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau was a German politician of the SPD. He was President of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004, and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998.-Education and work:...
pardoned Wagner, who was then 59 and suffering from ill-health.
Wagner caused controversy again in October 2007 when he made a statement about his previous crimes;
In retrospect, many of our decisions seem correct even today. Take, for example, the decision to kidnap Hanns-Martin Schleyer. He, with his SS history, acting as the business leader in the occupied zones and in his new role as strong-arm and President of the Employers Association; we didn’t choose him by chance.
Many members of German society were outraged at Wagner’s remarks, such as Rupert Scholz
Rupert Scholz
Rupert Scholz is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was Federal Minister of Defence from 1988 to 1989.Scholz is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy....
, the former Federal
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
Minister of Defense who called for Wagner to be charged with “speech encouraging criminality.”