Foreign
A GERMAN man has been sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison for carrying out a fatal arson attack on the home of asylum seekers.
The attack on the home of asylum seekers was carried out in 1991 in Saarland, in which one man died.
The Koblenz Higher Regional Court on Monday convicted the now 52-year-old man of especially aggravated arson and attempted murder.
At the time of the crime, the accused was 20 years old and thus sentenced according to juvenile criminal law, which foresees a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
The prosecution had demanded a sentence of nine years and six months.
The defence, on the other hand, had demanded that the man can only be sentenced for accessory to murder.
He had testified during the trial that he had been present at the fire, but that the fire had been started by an acquaintance.
Thirty-two years ago, a home for asylum seekers in Saarlouis in the south-western German state of Saarland burnt down.
The 27-year-old asylum seeker Samuel Yeboah from Ghana died as a result of the flames.
Two other house residents jumped out of a window and broke their bones.
Eighteen other residents escaped unharmed.
The Saarland police initially discontinued the original investigation about 30 years ago and later apologised for shortcomings in their work.
Years later, the case started up again.
In 2007, the German allegedly said to a witness at a barbecue.
“That was me and they never caught me.’’
Years later, the witness filed a complaint when she said she had read that someone had died in the fire. (dpa/NAN)
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October 9, 2023 @ 15:05 GMT|
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