Arson suspect acquitted in Amsterdam container housing complex fire

The court acquitted 28-year-old Mohamed S. of arson in the fire that destroyed a block of a container home complex in Amsterdam last year. According to the ruling, the presented evidence does not prove that the man had set the fire.

The fire at the Startblok Riekerhaven container home complex in Amsterdam Nieuw-West on 13 November 2022 destroyed 75 homes and left another 60 uninhabitable. The court described the rapidly spreading blaze as “devastating.”

But while it is clear that the fire started in S.’s home, it cannot be proven that he set it. A forensic fire investigator declared that the exact cause of the blaze could not be determined, there were no witnesses, and the man denied setting the fire.

“The court, therefore, concludes that it cannot be proven that the man deliberately brought flammable substances such as a blanket, sofa, mattress, or his clothing into contact with an open flame, causing a fire,” the court said. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had demanded six years in prison against S.

Because S. has been acquitted of arson, he can’t be held liable for any damages suffered by his neighbors in the fire.