Two Germans convicted of arson on the Lofoten Islands
A Norwegian court has sentenced two German tourists to prison for five cases of arson on the Lofoten Islands. The verdict is not yet final.
Prison sentences for German tourists following fires on the Lofoten Islands
A Norwegian court has sentenced two Germans to prison for five cases of arson on the Lofoten Island group, according to n-tv citing consistent media reports. According to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, one of the men was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, whilst the other received eight months. Both are believed to be between 20 and 30 years old. The verdict is not yet final.
According to reports, the two men set the fires in July 2025 during a holiday on the Lofoten Islands. Both admitted in court to having set the fires. The objects set alight included a cemetery chapel and plastic containers with dried cod heads.
One of the men was convicted under what is known as the arson-murder paragraph, as he is said to have set a fire directly next to an occupied building in which two people were present. According to NRK, the man stated that he and his companion believed the building to be an unoccupied holiday home. They claim to have only learned afterwards that people were inside. He rejected the accusation of having endangered human lives. His defence attorney announced to Norwegian broadcasting that he would appeal the verdict.
The two Germans were arrested after residents became suspicious following the initial fires and eventually caught the perpetrators red-handed.
Source: n-tv