Berlin Car Arson Suspect Sentenced to Prison

A Berlin court has convicted a man of arson for setting alight 80 cars in the German capital last year and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

A series of car torchings last summer drew national attention in the run-up to regional elections in Berlin. Although there have been regular arson attacks on luxury cars in Berlin and Hamburg over recent years, last year’s spate was unusually intense.

The Berlin state court said in a statement that the 28-year-old suspect was convicted Tuesday of one count of aggravated arson, another 79 of arson and six of attempted arson. In keeping with German privacy rules, it didn’t identify him.

The court says he set the fires “out of frustration at an unsatisfactory life situation.” It says the defendant and prosecutors decided not to appeal.