Anarchist prisoners freed

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33783, 4 March 1975, Page 17

Anarchist prisoners freed

(NZP.A.-Reuter —Copyright? FRANKFURT, March 3.

Five freed anarchist prisoners were flown from Frankfurt Airport this morning, apparently bound for Damascus, in exchange for the life of the kidnapped West Berlin politician, Mr Peter Lorenz.

The kidnappers had agreed to a onehour extension to their deadline, and the aircraft took off, with four minutes to spare, at 9.56 a.m.

The kidnappers’ demand that the release of the ransom prisoners must be shown live on West German television was met.

Another demand agreed to was that a Protestant pastor should accompany the freed anarchists on their flight. The freed prisoners are: Verena Becker, aged 22, Ingrid Siepmann (3U), Gabriele Kroecher-Thiedmann (23), Rolf Pohle (32), and Rolf Heissler (26). They were serving sentences of between six and 12 years on convictions arising from anarchist activities.

With only five hours to go before the deadline set by the kidnappers for the acceptance of their demands, one of the prisoners, Ingrid Siepmann, aged 30, who had been flown to Frankfurt from a prison in West Berlin, said on television that Gabriele Kroecher-Tiedemann, aged 22, had changed her mind about joining the four anarchists already released, and was being brought from a prison in Essen.

Three members of the Movement on June 2 had seized Mr Lorenz at gunKoint near his West Berlin ome four days ago, and had originally demanded the release of six anarchists serving prison terms totalling more than 50 years, an aircraft to fly them to an undisclosed destination, and a ransom of 20,000 marks (about $5300) for each of the three kidnappers. But two of the prisoners, a girl called KroecherTiedemann and a former Left-wing lawyer, Horst Mahler, refused to have any part in the deal. The other four were brought from Frankfurt while the authorities awaited instructions on where to fly them.

In a statement read on television yesterday on behalf of three of her anarchist comrades awaiting release, Siepmann accused the authorities of using delaying tactics in dealing with the kidnappers, despite their public announcements that they were concerned with saving Mr Lorenz’s life.

In a televised reaction — the abductors had demanded that all communications be transmitted on radio and television, rather than in secret — West Berlin police

.asked where they should fly ■i the anarchists to be freed. They also called on the 1 kidnappers to name the I architect of Mr Lorenz’s home i — a personal detail, knowledge of which would prove to them that the hostage was still alive. > The four anarchists, the ’ Protestant pastor who was 1 to go along as a hostage, and the crew of four of a Luft- : hansa Boeing 707 jet airliner . remained at the airport as the ■ bargaining went on 350 miles ( away in West Berlin. A West Berlin police state- ! ment at midnight had said 1 that the authorities could not ■ meet the 8 a.m. deadline to - save the life of the city’s Christian Democratic leader. > Mr Lorenz would have be- : come Mayor of West Berlin • had his party won 7 per cent ■ more of the votes in the city’s ■ elections yesterday: his > party topped the poll for the i first time since the war. It is > now the largest party in the - city’s Parliament, but it 1 failed to obtain an over-all 1 majority, and is likely to re- ' main in Opposition if the > Social Democrats and Free > Democrats decide to form a coalition. ! Mr Klaus Schuetz, the I Social Democrat who remains ■ Mayor, met other leading 1 politicians in a crisis meet--1 ing lasting until 3.30 a.m. ■ this morning, timed at secur- • ing Mr Lorenz’s safe release. I In Bonn, the Chancellor ■ (Mr Helmut Schmidt) and • leading Federal and State 1 politicians and security > chiefs met until late at night ! to try to draw up a coordinated plan of action.