After two arson attacks on a tent accommodation set up for refugees in Lower Bavaria, a 57-year-old now has to answer in court. The Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism, based at the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office, accuses the man of attempted and completed arson and damage to property. “It is assumed that the motivation for the crime was right-wing extremist or xenophobic,” the prosecution said on Tuesday. The man is in custody due to the risk of escaping and repeat offenses.
According to the information, he denies having set fire on the evening of January 31 in a still empty tent accommodation in Marklkofen (Dingolfing-Landau district), which was built for war refugees from Ukraine. After the damage remained manageable, he is said to have filled a heater with petrol the next night. This time the flames spread to the tent wall and the wooden support structure. There was damage of almost 30,000 euros. No one was injured in either case.
That is why the charges brought at the Landshut District Court at the end of May are not serious arson, because this criminal offense requires that there be people in the affected building at the time of the crime. However, because of the suspected extremist background, a 20-strong investigative team was set up, which arrested the suspected arsonist a few days later. According to the Attorney General, there are currently no indications that other people are involved.