Pleas in the refugee home fire trial
The pleas are expected on Thursday (09:30) in the trial surrounding the fire at the refugee home in Groß Strömkendorf. A firefighter has to answer to the Schwerin district court. According to the indictment, he is accused of setting several fires in the region, including at a hotel near Wismar that was used as a refugee home. At the time of the fire, 14 people from Ukraine were staying there. No one was injured.
The fire at the former "Schäfereck" hotel in Groß Strömkendorf was set on October 19, 2022. Nazi symbols at the scene of the fire had fueled suspicions that it could have been an act motivated by right-wing extremism. However, the suspicion was not confirmed.
The accused was arrested shortly after the fire. The trial against him began on May 10, 2023, but the court released him again in July during the course of the trial because it no longer saw any urgent suspicion of the crime.
According to the defense lawyer, the fire expert had not been able to substantiate the time he named for the start of the fire during the trial. In addition, the radio cell in which the defendant's cell phone had been located at that time was very large at ten by ten kilometers. The lawyer argued that there were many people in the cell.
However, the public prosecutor's office stuck to its accusation during the course of the trial. The closing arguments of the prosecution and defense were postponed several times after further motions for evidence.
The defense lawyer also raised concerns about migration-related processes, suggesting that the large radius of the radio cell could have potential implications for identifying the perpetrator, given the high volume of refugees in the area. Furthermore, the ongoing discussion about crime in refugee homes was brought up, as the accused was accused of setting fires in several locations, including a refugee home.
Source: www.dpa.com
