Japan militant group founder freed from jail

Fusako Shigenobu, who co-founded the Japanese Red Army militant group, walked out of prison Saturday, having served a 20-year sentence, and apologized for having hurt innocent people.

Shigenobu was convicted of masterminding the 1974 siege of the French Embassy in Hague, the Netherlands. She was arrested in 2000, in Osaka, central Japan.

The Japanese Red Army, formed in 1971, and linked with Palestinian militants, took responsibility for several attacks, including the takeover of the U.S. Consulate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1975.

A year after her arrest, she also declared the group dissolved. Japanese media reports said Shigenobu had undergone surgery for cancer during her incarceration.