A firefighter from near Wismar has been charged with a whole series of fires. A refugee home also burned, but no one was injured. Now the verdict has been pronounced.
The fire at the refugee home in Groß Strömkendorf near Wismar made national headlines in October last year.
14 Ukrainian war refugees lived in the thatched-roof former hotel. They were able to escape and no one was injured. The shock was still great, especially since a swastika graffiti had been discovered on the entrance sign a few days earlier. However, the graffiti was not related to the fire, as it turned out a short time later. Finally, a 32-year-old firefighter from the region was arrested as a suspect. The Schwerin regional court then acquitted him after a seven-month circumstantial trial – due to a lack of evidence.
The verdict had been eagerly awaited, although it was somewhat looming. The regional court released the now 33-year-old defendant in July, two months after the trial began, because it no longer saw any urgent suspicion of the crime.
Until the end, the public prosecutor stuck to his view that the man had started seven fires – with the Groß Strömkendorf fire as the last act. In the courtroom, the prosecutor left it open whether his office would appeal the verdict. The public prosecutor’s office had demanded seven years and six months in prison.
Two main reasons for acquittal
The presiding judge gave two main reasons for the acquittal. On the one hand, according to a case analysis, the series of fires in the region with 18 arsons were set by one and the same perpetrator. The public prosecutor’s office only charged seven arson cases.
On the other hand, the chamber sees no motive in the 33-year-old. The public prosecutor’s office assumed that he wanted to recommend himself for higher positions in the volunteer fire department by doing good deeds while extinguishing fires. According to the presiding judge, the man had already discussed with his military commander before the series of fires began that he would not apply for a higher office.
The defense attorney reacted happily to the verdict. “It is of course nice when there is an acquittal when you have pleaded for acquittal,” he said. He hopes that the matter is now over for his client. During the trial, the defendant remained silent about the accusation.
The circumstantial evidence trial began in May. A lot of attention was given to the question of whether the man was at the scene of the fire. According to smartphone data, he was in the area several times – but from the court’s point of view that was not enough to say that he was at the scene of the fire. Witnesses claimed to have seen the man’s car near two crime scenes, but were unable to clearly identify it.
Finally, the presiding judge said that in order to convict, the court must be satisfied that there is no reasonable doubt about the defendant’s perpetrator’s guilt. However, the chamber did not get to this point.
Source: Stern
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