Status: 11/16/2022 07:14 a.m
More than 30 years ago, Samuel Yeboah died in an arson attack on a refugee home in Saarlouis. The case also remained unsolved for so long due to errors in the investigation. Now the procedure begins.
The signature of the act – a fire set with petrol in a refugee accommodation in Saarlouis on September 19, 1991, one day after the start of the xenophobic riots in Hoyerswerda, Saxony. For him, a right-wing extremist background was clear from the beginning, says Saarland activist Roland Röder from the 3rd world campaign in Saar im SRConversation.
He has therefore been commemorating the attack with demos and posters for 30 years. “We didn’t want to be satisfied with the fact that this act was repeatedly covered up, that for years there was no talk of murder at all, from the official side.”
A Facebook post turned things around
The police and public prosecutor’s office in Saarland closed the files after just under a year. The relatives of the 27-year-old victim and the 20 residents who could be rescued remained in the dark for decades. Only a post on Facebook about the case as a “cold case” brought about a turning point in 2019.
A Saarland woman reports to the police and states that an acquaintance confessed to her at a barbecue that she had started the fire. The acquaintance is 51-year-old Peter S. from Saarlouis, allegedly a former skinhead.
This time, a comprehensive investigation will be carried out – soon under the leadership of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office due to the right-wing extremist background. In January 2021, S.’s apartment and workplace will be searched, he will be arrested at the beginning of April this year, and he has been in custody since then. Shortly after the arrest, the Saarland police apologized to Norbert Rupp for mistakes made 30 years ago.
Röder has been commemorating the Saarlouis attack for 30 years.
Image: dpa
Defendant denies the allegations
Peter S. denies the allegations. His defense attorney Guido Britz says about him: “It is clear that he was a difficult person, that he had a difficult childhood with corresponding disadvantages. It will have to be clarified whether he was a right-wing extremist, but even if this question can be answered in some way is, it cannot be directly deduced that he is responsible for the fire.” Britz doubts that there was even a right-wing extremist scene in Saarlouis.
Röder counters: “It could be seen in the clothing, in the symbolism, in the codes that were used, it was repeatedly reported in the media when there were various disputes. The right-wing scene held public events. It was visible .”
A report by the interior committee of the Saarland state parliament from September 1992 shows that the secret service had the scene on the screen: “There are certainly suspicions that the perpetrators came from the right-wing extremist field and here also from the environment of right-wing extremist parties and also from the skinhead scene (…) As you know, the group of skinheads is subject to surveillance by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution.”
Samuel Yeboah died that same day
According to the indictment, S. met like-minded people in a bar in Saarlouis on September 18, 1991 and talked about the attacks on refugee homes in Hoyerswerda. The leader of the group is said to have said: “There should be something on fire here.” Peter S. is said to have set the fire in the refugee accommodation at 3.30 a.m. out of racist sentiment, according to the indictment. Samuel Yeboah lived on the top floor, suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation, and died the same day. The other 18 residents were able to save themselves, two of whom suffered broken bones by jumping out of the window.
Peter S. denies being the arsonist, his defense attorney says the 51-year-old will comment on the allegations during the trial. He doubts the probative value of the testimony of the witness. “As a result, I have serious concerns about this statement, which was made much later and communicated much later, so I have serious concerns as to whether a conviction can be based on this statement at all.” There is apparently no objective evidence such as DNA evidence.
More than 70 witnesses
More than 70 witnesses are invited to the trial – mainly from police circles and from the environment of the accused at the time. Three of the 21 affected appear as joint plaintiffs. For them, the process also awakens traumatic experiences, according to Röder. “They remember all these images, including these images of helplessness, being startled at night by an arson attack.”
Above all, he expects the legal processing of the attack from the process. In a second step, the political work-up with a parliamentary committee of inquiry must then follow – because, according to Röder: “In my eyes, this is still a state failure in the Saarland”.
Nine hearings are currently planned until December 20th. The defender expects the process to take much longer.