The Red Army Faction or RAF (German Rote Armee Fraktion) (in its early stages commonly known as Baader-Meinhof Group [or Gang]), was one of postwar West Germany's most active and prominent militant left-wing groups. It described itself as a communist "urban guerrilla" group engaged in armed resistance, while it was described by the West German government as a terrorist group. The RAF was formally founded in 1970 by Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, Ulrike Meinhof, Irmgard Möller and others. The Red Army Faction operated from the 1970s to 1993, committing numerous crimes, especially in the autumn of 1977, which led to a national crisis that became known as "German Autumn". It was responsible for 34 deaths including many secondary targets such as chauffeurs and bodyguards—and many injuries in its almost 30 years of existence. Amidst widespread media controversy, the German president had considered pardoning RAF member Christian Klar, who filed a pardon application years ago, but on 7 May 2007Brigitte Mohnhaupt was granted a release on a five year parole by a German court on 12 February 2007 and Eva Haule was released Friday August 17, 2007.
