Acquittal in trial over refugee home fire in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
With the verdict, the court followed the defense's request. The public prosecutor had demanded seven years and six months in prison for the accused. In its plea, it considered it proven that the firefighter from a neighboring village of Groß Strömkendorf had also set six other fires in the region since May 2022. Three small wooded areas, a straw barn, a carport and a thatched-roof house caught fire. The court also acquitted the firefighter of these charges.
The public prosecutor's office had argued with numerous pieces of evidence which, taken together, would point to the defendant as the perpetrator. For example, it was contrary to life experience that the defendant had only happened to be in the vicinity of the scenes of all the fires shortly before they broke out. The prosecution claimed to be able to prove this using mobile phone data, chat histories and witness statements.
Like the defense, the court was not convinced by this chain of evidence. Among other things, it doubted that the accused was the perpetrator because a case analyst had attributed a total of 18 fires to a single perpetrator. However, the accused had only been charged with seven fires. Furthermore, the criminal chamber was unable to identify any comprehensible motive on the part of the accused. The verdict is not yet final. The public prosecutor's office is considering whether to appeal.
The fire made national headlines at the time because the police initially suspected a xenophobic attack. A swastika had been daubed on a sign in front of the home a few days before the fire. For this reason, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister President Manuela Schwesig (both SPD) visited the village the day after the fire. At that time, however, the police were already investigating an unusual number of arsons in the region.
The firefighter was arrested a month after the fire in Groß Strömkendorf. In addition to his work in a factory fire department, he had also been involved in the voluntary fire department in his home town. He was involved in the extinguishing work in all the cases brought before the court. He remained silent about the accusations in court.
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- The fire in the refugee home in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was initially suspected to be a xenophobic attack, as a swastika had been found near the home before the incident.
- The Criminal chamber of the Regional court in Wismar acquitted the firefighter from Groß Strömkendorf of setting the refugee home fire, despite the public prosecutor's office presenting numerous pieces of evidence.
- The public prosecutor's office in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania argued that the firefighter had set at least seven fires in the region since May 2022, including three small wooded areas, a straw barn, a carport, and a thatched-roof house.
- However, the court was not convinced by the prosecutor's evidence, as a case analyst had attributed 18 fires to a single perpetrator, while the accused was only charged with seven.
- The firefighter remained silent throughout the trial and was involved in the extinguishing work for all seven fires brought before the court.
- Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister President Manuela Schwesig visited the village of Groß Strömkendorf after the fire, condemning the suspected xenophobic attack.
- The public prosecutor's office is considering whether to appeal the acquittal of the firefighter, as the seven-year and six-month prison sentence demanded was far from the maximum penalty.
- The volunteer fire department in the firefighter's home town was also involved in the extinguishing work for all the fires brought before the court, highlighting the importance of such organizations in emergency situations.
Source: www.stern.de
