GERMANY:German president Horst Köhler has rejected a clemency application from a former left-wing Red Army Faction (RAF) terrorist after criticism from leading conservatives.
On Friday Mr Köhler met Christian Klar (54), a second-generation member of the Baader-Meinhof gang, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the so-called "German autumn" campaign of terror 30 years ago.
Among their high-profile crimes, RAF members including Klar shot dead the German chief prosecutor, Siegfried Buback, and kidnapped and later killed Hanns-Martin Schleyer, the head of the German Employers Federation.
In 1985 Klar was found guilty on nine charges of murder and 11 charges of attempted murder.
Sentences are served simultaneously in Germany and few prisoners spend more than 20 years behind bars.
Klar was entitled to make a plea for clemency to the German president. Mr Köhler turned down the application yesterday and Klar is now expected to leave prison as scheduled in 2009.
Leading conservatives attacked the idea of clemency because Klar had never shown regret for his crimes nor said which gang member actually killed Buback, Schleyer and others.
"It is my view of justice that a criminal who does not confess is undeserving of clemency," said Günther Beckstein, the Bavarian justice minister and a likely successor to state premier Edmundt Stoiber later this year.
Others suggested they would block Mr Köhler from standing for a second presidential term if he freed Klar early.
Last month's release of Klar's co-conspirator Brigitte Mohnhaupt after 24 years in prison and the upcoming 30th anniversary has revived memories of the RAF's campaign, memorably described by Nobel Prize-winning author Heinrich Böll as a "war of six against 60 million", and the West German authorities' harsh response.
Though back in the news, the RAF disbanded in 1998 and has faded into German history. In Italy, however, the 1970s communist Red Brigade appears to be experiencing a revival.
In one of several high-profile recent actions, Archbishop of Genoa Angelo Bagnasco received a bullet in the post, allegedly from the group, after he spoke out against same-sex unions.
Archbishop Bagnasco was given a police guard after the threats.