- There was a dozen fires in the Solothurn water authority in spring 2022. The police suspect arson.
- The public prosecutor presented a 33-year-old suspect at the end of May. He was taken into custody.
- In October 2022, the High Court ruled that the 33-year-old should be released from custody. There is no risk of repetition.
- The public prosecutor’s office has now reached the Federal Court that the suspect should be monitored with alternative measures.
During the series of fires in spring, it mostly burned at the weekend: a warehouse, a forest house, a forest hut, a workshop, and also a carpentry shop, in the same region. Nobody was injured, but the population was unsettled.
Intensive investigations by the authorities then led to the 33-year-old suspect, a firefighter from the region. He was taken into custody but successfully defended himself in the Supreme Court. He has been free since October.
Fire series in spring 2022
No detention, but GPS ankle cuffs?
The public prosecutor’s office had complained to federal court because the suspect was released from custody. If so, then alternative measures are needed. The Federal Supreme Court confirms that there is “at least a low risk of recurrence,” it argued.
Pre-trial detention is not appropriate, but the prerequisites for alternative measures, such as electronic ankle bracelets, are given. Now the detention court has to decide in the next few days. It is not yet clear when the actual court hearing on the series of fires will take place.
Legend:
No one was injured in the fire in Oekingen on December 4th. The fire brigade was able to extinguish the fire.
zvg/Canton Police Solothurn
On December 4th, there was another fire in the Wasseramt region, this time in Oekingen. A Spycher and a car were on fire, police said. The investigations are ongoing, “further information is not yet possible,” says the Solothurn public prosecutor’s office.
It is not clear whether there is a connection to the other fires. The presumption of innocence applies to the suspects in the fires.