RAF Bombs Weiterstadt Prison (1993)

Sat Mar 27, 1993

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On this day in 1993, the Red Army Faction (RAF) bombed and destroyed the newly finished Weiterstadt Prison near Frankfurt, Germany, causing approximately $90 million in damages.

The Weiterstadt prison had taken eight years to build and was not housing inmates yet - they were scheduled to begin holding inmates that May. The act of rebellion began when at least three armed people climbed a high well and entered the guardhouse early in the morning of March 27th, 1993.

The group subdued ten prison guards and locked them in a van near a landfill. After that, the RAF members brought in more than 200 kilograms of explosives, detonating them at 5:12 am. The prison had to be rebuilt, which took another four years, opening and receiving inmates in May 1997.

The bombing was the last major action of the RAF before they dissolved in 1998. In 2007, fourteen years later, detectives identified three perpetrators using DNA analysis, however all three suspects are still at large. In May 2020, all three suspects were on the Europe Union’s “Most Wanted” list.

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• Date: 1993-03-27
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.dw.com.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org