Peter-Jürgen Boock (born 3 September 1951) is a former

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

of the

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section " Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...

Earlier life

After completing secondary school, Boock began training as a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...

but soon quit. Claiming that his father was a staunch

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

, Boock then left his parents' home and travelled to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He became involved with

illegal drugs The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate th ...

, and was arrested for

possession Possession may refer to: Law *Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance *Drug possession, a crime *Ownership *Per ...

. Soon after this he attempted suicide. He spent the next few years in rehabilitation programmes and living in re-education homes, and came in contact with

Gudrun Ensslin Gudrun Ensslin (; 15 August 1940 – 18 October 1977) was a German far-left terrorist and founder of the West German far-left militant group Red Army Faction (, or RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang). After becoming involved with co-foun ...

and

Andreas Baader Berndt Andreas Baader (6 May 1943 – 18 October 1977) was one of the first leaders of the West German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction (RAF), also commonly known as ''the Baader-Meinhof Group''. Life Andreas Baader was born ...

. He wanted to join the

but was deemed too young. He moved to

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

and continued abusing drugs. In 1973, he married Waltraud Liewald (who would also later become an RAF terrorist).

Terrorism

At some point between 1975 and 1976, Boock joined the RAF and went underground. He travelled to

Southern Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

, where he received terrorist training (including

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

taking and hijacking). He became an involved member of the second generation Red Army Faction. *In July 1977 he was the

getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of fleeing the location where one has broken the law. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a crime; e ...

in the plot to kidnap

Jürgen Ponto Jürgen Ponto (17 December 1923 Bad Nauheim, Hesse - 30 July 1977 Frankfurt am Main) was a German banker and since 1969 chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors. Previously, he had worked as a lawyer. He was murdered by members of the Red ...

. The plot fell through however, and Ponto was murdered. *In August 1977, Boock constructed a rocket launcher called the ''Stalin Organ,'' which was capable of firing primitive missiles. He trained the weapon on the offices of the

Federal Prosecutor An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal g ...

. The launcher didn't work, and Boock claimed that he had a change of heart at the last minute and deliberately sabotaged the weapon himself. *In September 1977, Boock was involved in the

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/ asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the ...

-murder of

Hanns-Martin Schleyer Hans "Hanns" Martin Schleyer (; 1 May 1915 – 18 October 1977) was a German business executive, and employer and industry representative, who served as President of two powerful commercial organizations, the Confederation of German Employers' A ...

, and was one of the RAF kidnappers who opened fire on Schleyer's car.''Star'' 26/1997, 19 June 1997, the German autumn *In 1978 he was arrested in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, with

Brigitte Mohnhaupt Brigitte Margret Ida Mohnhaupt (born 24 June 1949) is a German convicted former terrorist associated with the second generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF) members. She was also part of the Socialist Patients' Collective (SPK). From 1971 until 1 ...

Sieglinde Hofmann Sieglinde Hofmann (born 14 March 1945) was a German militant and member of both the Socialist Patients' CollectiveWolfgang Kraushaar"Die RAF und der linke Terrorismus" Hamburger Edition, 2006, Volume 1, p. 473 and the Red Army Faction. Biography ...

and

Rolf Clemens Wagner Rolf Clemens Wagner (30 August 1944 – 11 February 2014) was a member of the left wing terrorist organisation Red Army Faction (RAF). Terrorism Wagner carried out most of his terrorists actions in the 1970s, and became an active member of the s ...

. They were later freed and flown to a country of their choice because West Germany turned down an offer from Yugoslavia to extradite them in exchange for eight Croatian political fugitives in West Germany.

Arrest and imprisonment

Boock distanced himself from the RAF in 1980. However in 1981 he was arrested in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. He played down his role within the RAF, though was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...

terms for his involvement in the Ponto and Schleyer murders. In 1992 he admitted his full involvement in certain RAF activities, such as the Schleyer murder. He was freed from prison on 13 March 1998 and now works as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

writer near

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. In 2007, he accused

Stefan Wisniewski Stefan Wisniewski (born 8 April 1953) is a former member of the Red Army Faction (RAF). Early life Wisniewski was born in 1953 in Klosterreichenbach, a part of Baiersbronn, Baden-Württemberg, in the Black Forest. He was the son of Gisela, a ...

of the murder of

Siegfried Buback Siegfried Buback (3 January 1920, Wilsdruff, Saxony – 7 April 1977, Karlsruhe) was the Attorney General of West Germany from 1974 until his murder in 1977. Life and career Buback studied at the University of Leipzig. From 1940 to 1945, he ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boock, Peter-Jurgen People from Nordfriesland German prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Germany Members of the Red Army Faction People convicted on terrorism charges 1951 births Living people