New Images Released in Search for Ex-RAF Terrorist Ernst-Volker Staub

The Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office has announced the release of new images and information as part of the ongoing search for Ernst-Volker Staub, a fugitive associated with the Red Army Faction (RAF). The agency is particularly appealing for assistance from medical personnel who might have encountered Staub or his associates.

On Thursday morning, the police released two photographs of Staub taken in 2006, depicting him smiling and wearing glasses. These images are categorized as thumbnails, which are reduced-size digital previews with lower resolution.

The authorities believe that Staub, along with his accomplices Daniela Klette and Burkhard Garweg, may be seeking private medical treatment and paying in cash to avoid detection, as they reportedly lack health insurance. Investigators suspect that Staub, who is known to wear glasses, might require regular visits to an optician and an eye doctor. Additionally, there are concerns that he may have dental issues.

In their appeal, the police also disclosed several alias names that Staub has used to conceal his identity. He has primarily identified himself as "Peter," and both Garweg and Klette have reportedly used this name when referring to him. Other aliases include Volker Gertner, Adnan Yücel, Jens Peter Grundmann, Georg Schmidt, Ulrich Schulte, Matias Kaliran, Michael Jansen, Robert Hagen, Kircali Aziz, Michael Theiss, Rolf Krause, and Hans Roth. With these names, he is believed to have rented apartments or purchased vehicles, prompting the authorities to call upon landlords and car dealers for any relevant information.

Staub is linked to the third generation of the RAF and is accused of participating in a series of armed robberies after the group's self-dissolution in 1998, which included 13 heists targeting cash transporters and retail establishments.

While Klette, now 66, was arrested in February 2024 and is currently undergoing trial under tight security measures, Garweg managed to evade capture. He had been living just five kilometers away from Klette in a trailer shared with other leftist individuals in Berlin-Friedrichshain.

The search for Staub, born in 1954, has proven challenging, with no confirmed sightings reported for several years. The president of the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office has indicated the possibility that Staub may no longer be alive, citing a lack of any signs of life over the past five years. The last known robbery involving Staub took place in 2016 in Cremlingen, near Braunschweig. Although traces of his presence were discovered in Klette's Berlin apartment, authorities cannot definitively connect this evidence to Staub.

Despite some eyewitness accounts claiming to have seen Staub near Klette's residence shortly before her arrest last year, the police urge caution regarding the reliability of such testimonies. The hunt for Staub continues, with investigators leaving all possibilities open. There remains no concrete evidence supporting claims of his death, and he could potentially be residing either within Germany or abroad, possibly embedded in leftist circles similar to those of Klette and Garweg.