German man acquitted for fatal 1991 attack on asylum seeker home

A man accused of helping to carry out a fatal arson attack on an asylum centre in Germany in 1991 was acquitted on Tuesday, reported dpa.

Presiding judge Konrad Leitges said during the proceedings on Tuesday in the western German city of Koblenz that the evidence had not confirmed that the accused had aided and abetted the arson attack 33 years ago.

The defence of the 55-year-old German had demanded an acquittal, while the federal prosecution had called for a prison sentence of six and a half years.

The judgement is not yet final.

In 1991, a home for asylum seekers in the town of 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 bones. Eighteen other residents escaped unharmed.

In October, the 52-year-old perpetrator of the crime was convicted of murder and sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison.