Police investigate cause of fire Suspected arson: Siegauen rapist
Cologne · In a suspected arson attack in the Cologne prison during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, three people were injured - two prison guards and one inmate. The injured prisoner is the same man who was sentenced for the rape of a female camper in the Siegaue.
In a suspected arson attack in the Cologne prison during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, three people were injured - two prison guards and one inmate. The injured prisoner is the same man who was sentenced for rape of a female camper in the Siegaue. The 31-year-old from Ghana was seriously injured in the fire. The man, who was sentenced to eleven-and-a-half years in prison for rape and extortion in October last, is currently in a medically-induced coma, according to senior public prosecutor Ulrich Bremer. „According to the information we received from the hospital, this situation may remain unchanged for days“, Wolfgang Schriever, deputy director of the prison in Cologne, said.
As a police spokesperson reported, the flames were extinguished quickly. Both of the other injured men are staff members of the prison. They suffered from flue gas poisoning but their injuries are not life threatening. The fire investigators are now inspecting the location of the fire to find the cause of the blaze. Whether the inmate started the fire in his cell himself is a mere presumption at the moment, said Bremer. During the time of the fire he was most likely on his own in his solitary cell. His actions are being investigated as accomplished arson, said a spokesperson on Wednesday. The investigators are not considering an accidental outbreak of the fire. Last year, the 31-year-old had set fire to his cell. When two prison guards entered the cell, he attacked them.
The prison management filed a complaint. In January, charges were brought against him for resisting law enforcement officials and causing bodily harm. Before that, the Ghanaian made a negative impression when he attacked a guard when he got out of the transport vehicle that brought him to the prison. He was overpowered quickly back then. For safety reasons, the prison guards confiscated all lighters of the inmate. However, a measure like this cannot be in place permanently. He could have gotten lighters from other inmates because smoking is not prohibited. In the fire in his cell, the man was injured so seriously that he had to undergo surgery during the early morning. According to Schriever, 30 per cent of his skin was burnt. The significant injuries are not life threatening though, it was reported.
The district court in Bonn considers it as proven that the 31-year-old robbed a young couple in April, who were camping in the Siegaue in Troisdorf. The accused cut open the tent during the night, threatened the couple with a saw and raped the 23-year-old woman. The 31-year-old - a rejected asylum seeker from Ghana - was arrested a few days after the crime. During the trial he denied the crime. He lodged an appeal. The court based the evidence mainly on DNA traces. Original text: GA, dpa Translation: Mareike Graepel
