Serb flees over prison roof at JVA Duisburg-Hamborn – manhunt underway
A 35-year-old Serb escaped from JVA Duisburg-Hamborn early on Sunday morning. Police are searching for the remand prisoner.
Escape from JVA Duisburg-Hamborn: serial offender flees over prison roof
A 35-year-old Serb escaped from Duisburg-Hamborn correctional facility early on Sunday morning. The North Rhine-Westphalia Justice Ministry confirmed the incident.
According to BILD, the man first sawed through the iron bars in front of his cell window – the source of the tool remains unclear. He then squeezed through the narrow gap, climbed up the façade and overcame the security fixture at the roof edge. He reached the outside via the prison roof. The guttering downpipes are normally clad with sheet metal to prevent climbing – the fugitive was not deterred by this.
NRW Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (56, Alliance 90/The Greens) described the escape as "absolutely unacceptable" and stated that the swift apprehension of the fugitive was now the highest priority. A security expert from the ministry is investigating on site. Limbach announced: "We will thoroughly investigate how this security gap could have arisen, in order to draw the necessary consequences from the findings immediately."
Sasa D. had been in remand custody since 10 February on suspicion of theft. He is considered a so-called "travelling offender" – criminals without a fixed place of residence in Germany who only enter the country to commit offences and frequently carry out burglaries or car thefts in series. According to BILD information, he was sentenced on 20 May 2026 to a custodial sentence of six years for two residential burglaries in Oberhausen; however, the judgment is not yet final.
Police have initiated a manhunt for the escapee.
Source: BILD