German court frees terror suspect

BERLIN, 25 (UPI) -- A German federal court has overturned an arrest warrant for a Berlin-based university professor accused of links to a left-wing terrorist group.

Germany’s prosecution office had issued the warrant based on the belief that 36-year-old Andrej Holm was a member of the far-left terror organization known as Militant Group, or mg, which before, during and after this year’s Group of Eight meeting enacted 25 fire bombings in and around Berlin.

On Wednesday, however, Germany’s federal court in Karlsruhe made the warrant null and void when it said sufficient evidence was lacking that Holm, who is an urban development expert at Berlin’s Humboldt University, really was a member of the mg. While it has been proved that Holm has met with mg members and that he has contacts into the far-left scene, the evidence gathered did not unmistakably speak for membership in the terror group.

"The evidence can also be interpreted differently," the court said in a statement.

Holm has received backing from several opposition politicians who say the recent verdict was a victory for civil rights in Germany, arguing it overturned a decision motivated by a security authority that went too far.

Source: UPI | 25.10.2007