Red Army Faction's Klar to be freed

STUTTGART, Germany, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- One of the last imprisoned members of the Red Army Faction, a 1970s German militant group, will soon be released, officials said Monday.

Christian Klar, who has served 26 years in prison, will be freed in January, prison officials announced. The decision came after a court in Stuttgart determined that Klar, 56, no longer posed a terrorist threat, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

Klar, imprisoned since 1982, was given a life sentence in 1985 on nine counts of murder. He was convicted for his role in the kidnapping and murder of industrialist Hanns Martin Schleyer as well as the murders of prosecutor Siegfried Buback and Dresdner Bank CEO Juergen Ponto, Deutsche Welle reported.

When Klar is released, only one former member of the Red Army Faction, Birgit Hogefeld, will remain in prison, the broadcaster said.