E/CN.4/1996/72 page 35 Allegations Place: Esslingen (Baden-Württemberg) Date: 16 May 1995 87. It has been reported that there was an arson attack on a building on Rathausplatz No. 11 in Esslingen, entirely occupied by foreigners (Bosnians and Turks) after midnight. The two Turks who lived on the third floor of the building are said to have escaped uninjured. The damage is estimated to be around DM 10,000. 88. The Esslingen police acknowledge that the incident was an arson attack, and they stated that it could be linked to two previous arson attacks in Esslingen (9 April 1995 on Fabrikstrasse and 2 May 1995 on Plochingerstrasse). Those fires had resulted in damage of approximately DM 2.5 million. 89. It is alleged that these attacks were linked to right-wing extremist groups and had racist motivations. Observations 90. This incident is one of a series of arson attacks in Esslingen. On 9 April 1995 the building at Fabrikstrasse No. 18 in Esslingen, mainly occupied by Turkish and Greek nationals, was largely destroyed in an arson attack. Damage was caused amounting to DM 750,000. The fire brigade were able to rescue the uninjured occupants. The arson attack on 2 May 1995 on the building at Plochingerstrasse No. 120 in Esslingen, occupied partly by repatriates from Poland as well as by people from the former yugoslavia, also led to damage at the level indicated. The occupants were not injured. The building at Rathausplatz No. 11, which was the target of another arson attack in Esslingen on 16 May 1995, was occupied solely by Turkish and Greek nationals. Damage of DM 10,000 was caused, but nobody was injured. 91. Following extensive investigations - rewards were offered amounting to a total of DM 30,000 - a suspect was arrested on 30 June 1995 who has been in remand custody ever since. The 25-year-old accused has stated that in the three incidents referred to he was deliberately trying to set fire to the house where Turks were living. He said that he did this because Turks had beaten him up in July 1994 and, in his opinion, had been punished too leniently by the court. 92. In addition, the accused is strongly suspected of committing arson or damage to property in conjunction with arson in at least another 14 cases. According to the results of the investigations conducted, xenophobic motivations can be ruled out in these cases with a degree of probability bordering on certainty. In the light of what is currently known it can also be ruled out that the accused was a member of a right-wing extremist group or maintained contacts with such a group. 93. The public prosecution office’s investigations are not over yet.