Press photographers in Dessau-Roßlau convicted of arson in 13 cases
Two freelance press photographers set fires to sell exclusive photograph material. The Dessau-Roßlau Regional Court imposed custodial sentences of up to six years and eight months.
Photographers set fires for exclusive shots – Regional Court delivers verdict
The Dessau-Roßlau Regional Court has convicted two press photographers of multiple acts of arson and sentenced them to custodial terms. According to DER SPIEGEL (Justice & Crime), the court found it proven that the two men set fire to vacant buildings, woodland and agriculturally-used land in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen area between July and September 2025 – in order to produce and sell exclusive videos and photographs of fire service operations.
The 33-year-old defendant was convicted of arson in six cases and sentenced to a total custodial term of one year and eleven months, suspended on probation. During the proceedings, there was an agreement between the court and the man; he largely admitted the charges. The 23-year-old received a custodial sentence of six years and eight months for seven offences. Both men were from Bitterfeld-Wolfen and Zörbig in Anhalt-Bitterfeld district and worked as freelancers without permanent employment at a news organisation.
The prosecution had originally accused both men of arson in a total of 17 cases. According to the court, the fires caused material damage in the low six-figure range. The fires were set in such a way that the flames spread rapidly and firefighting efforts were hampered; in doing so, the perpetrators also accepted the risk that emergency service personnel could be injured.
The photographers were arrested in September 2025 after officers apprehended them in Raguhn following a fire in a vacant railway station building. The trial had already begun in March of this year but was delayed on several occasions. The verdicts are not yet final.