German Court Reviews 1991 Racially Motivated Arson Conviction

The Federal Court of Justice is examining appeals against a 2023 verdict for the deadly Saarlouis asylum home attack.

The 1991 arson attack in Saarlouis killed Samuel Yeboah, a 27-year-old Ghanaian asylum seeker, and injured several others in a refugee accommodation.
The perpetrator, Peter S., was convicted in 2023 for murder and 12 counts of attempted murder, receiving a six-year, ten-month sentence under juvenile law due to his age at the time of the crime.
The case remained unsolved for decades until a witness in 2019 reported that S. had confessed during a social gathering years earlier, leading to his 2022 arrest.
Appeals have been filed by the defendant, the federal prosecutor, and survivors, with the latter seeking to expand the conviction to include eight additional cases of attempted murder.
A final decision from the Federal Court of Justice on the appeals is expected on January 23, 2025.