A former member of the Baader-Meinhof gang has been released after serving 24 years for her involvement in kidnappings and murders in the 1970s.
Brigitte Mohnhaupt, 57,was released from the Aichach prison in Germany on Sunday, a prison official said.
Last month a German court ruled that Mohnhaupt qualified for early release after serving a minimum proportion of her five life sentences.
The group was also known as the Red Army Faction.
The prospect of Mohnhaupt's release sparked a fierce debate in Germany.
Mohnhaupt was convicted of involvement in nine murders. Victims included a judge, a banker and the employers' federation president.
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, in Berlin, says she was once described as the most evil and dangerous woman in West Germany.
Separately, another prominent Red Army prisoner, Christian Klar, is seeking early release.
He has applied to the German president for a pardon. [...]
One of the group's most prominent targets was the German industrialist Hans Martin Schleyer - who was kidnapped in September 1977 and shot six weeks later.
Speaking before the court ruling, Mr Schleyer's son Joerg said members of the group had expressed no remorse for the killing.
"I can't understand that we would take [let] them out because within the last 30 years there's nothing they said - 'OK we're sorry we murdered your father, sorry for that, we murdered policemen, sorry for that.' Absolutely no word."
Sunday, March 25, 2007
BBC: Brigitte Mohnhaupt is now free
What will she do with her freedom? Appear in a critically-acclaimed television series? Kidnap and kill bank presidents? Become the acting head of the PFLP? Stay tuned.
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