Petra Krause
{{Short description|German-Italian terrorist (1939–2025)}}
Petra Krause (19 February 1939 – April 2025) was a German-Italian communist militant who, along with her gang, supplied weapons to groups including the Red Army Faction (RAF) in Germany and the Red Brigades in Italy.https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2025/04/02/news/petra_krause_morta_rivoluzionaria-424101670/?ref=RHLM-BG-P16-S1-T1
Biography
Krause was born in Berlin on 19 February 1939.{{Dodis|P54158|Krause, Petra|ja}}
In 1975 she was arrested in Zurich on suspicion of smuggling explosives and arms for various terrorist groups throughout half of Europe. She was defended by attorney Bernard Rambert of the "Legal Advice Collective" (Rechtsauskunft Anwaltskollektiv){{cite news |last1=Scherrer |first1=Lucien |title=Der rote Beni und die Terroristen |url=https://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/der-rote-beni-und-die-terroristen-1.18515964 |accessdate=June 6, 2018 |agency=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |date=Apr 4, 2015}} and in 1977 extradited to Italy, where she was released after a few days. In 1981, she was sentenced in absentia by the Court of Appeals of the Canton of Zürich.{{cite news |last1=Gyr |first1=Marcel |title=Die Terroristin, die der Schweiz Folter |url=https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/deutscher-herbst-in-der-schweiz-die-terroristin-die-der-schweiz-folter-vorwarf-ld.1314575 |accessdate=June 6, 2018 |agency=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |date=Sep 15, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Tobler |first1=Andreas |title=Eine Frau narrt die Schweiz |url=https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/Eine-Frau-narrt-die-Schweiz/story/1362083 |accessdate=June 6, 2018 |agency=Tages Anzeiger |date=Sep 15, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Steiger |first1=Martin |title=Urteil gegen Terroristin Petra Krause vom 9. März 1981 |url=https://steigerlegal.ch/2018/05/17/urteil-petra-krause/ |accessdate=June 6, 2017 |agency=Steiger Legal |date=May 17, 2018}}
The proceedings against Krause in Switzerland took place against the background of the events of the German Autumn, and also led to controversy over the conditions of her detention.{{cite web |last1=Hafner |first1=Urs |title=Die Terroristin, die zum Opfer wurde |url=http://www.snf.ch/de/fokusForschung/newsroom/Seiten/news-151026-horizonte-terroristin-im-hungerstreik.aspx |website=Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung |accessdate=June 6, 2018}} This was also the time of leftist terrorism in Switzerland.{{cite web |title="Schweizer RAF": Halbstarke Männer, missglückte Bombenanschläge |url=https://www.srf.ch/kultur/gesellschaft-religion/schweizer-raf-halbstarke-maenner-missglueckte-bombenanschlaege |website=Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen |accessdate=June 6, 2018}}{{cite web |title="Deutscher Herbst" in der Schweiz |url=https://www.dodis.ch/de/themendossiers/e-dossier-deutscher-herbst-der-schweiz |website=Diplomatische Dokumente der Schweiz |accessdate=June 6, 2017}}
Krause was friends with the German politician and DDR agent Brigitte Heinrich. In Zurich she had worked for a short time with the bookseller Theo Pinkus.
On 2 April 2025, it was announced that Krause had died at the age of 86.[https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2025/04/02/news/petra_krause_morta_rivoluzionaria-424101670/ Morta Petra Krause, la rivoluzionaria degli anni Settanta che attraversò la stagione del terrorismo] {{in lang|it}}{{subscription required}}
References
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Category:Activists from Berlin
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