Fusako Shigenobu, co-founder of the Japanese Red Army terrorist group, has been released from prison after serving a 20-year sentence.
Key points:
- Fusako Shigenobu was released from prison in Tokyo after serving 20 years in prison
- The 76-year-old woman apologized for harming innocent people during her time in the Japanese terrorist group Red Army.
- The terrorist group claimed several terrorist attacks during the 1970s, including the 1974 siege of the French embassy in The Hague.
The 76-year-old man has apologized for harming innocent people after being released on Saturday from a prison in Akishima, a suburb of Tokyo.
“I feel strongly that I have finally come out alive,” she said, greeted by her daughter and a crowd of reporters and supporters.
“I hurt innocent people I didn’t know by putting our struggles first.
“Even though it was a different time, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize deeply,” said Shigenobu, who wore a black hat and a gray dress.
Shigenobu was convicted of leading the 1974 siege of the French embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands.
She was arrested in 2000 in Osaka, central Japan, where she had been hiding.
Japanese media reported that Shigenobu had undergone cancer surgery during his imprisonment. (AP: Kyodo News)
The Japanese Red Army, formed in 1971 and linked to Palestinian militants, claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the takeover of the U.S. Consulate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1975.
The group is also believed to be behind a machine gun and grenade attack in 1972 at the international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, which killed 28 people, including two terrorists, and injured dozens.
Shigenobu was not physically present in the attacks. A year after his arrest, he declared the group dissolved.
Japanese media reported that Shigenobu had been operated on for cancer during his imprisonment.
Kozo Okamoto, a member of the group who was wounded and arrested in the attack on the Israeli airport, was released in 1985 in a prisoner exchange between Israeli and Palestinian forces. He is reported to be in Lebanon.
Okamoto and several other members of the group are still wanted by Japanese authorities.
AP