A trans-identified male from Iran is being held in a women’s prison in Germany after being arrested on charges of committing multiple arson attacks. Due to strict privacy laws in Germany, the man is known only as Bahar S., and he has refused to allow the press to take photos of him in court.
The 43-year-old is known to be an Iranian national without German citizenship who came to the country as a refugee. Throughout 2024, Bahar committed a number of crimes throughout Berlin while participating in pro-Palestine protests, including three arson attacks, four assaults on police officers, and at least two instances of anti-Semitic vandalism.
In January of 2024, Bahar dumped 5 liters of gasoline in front of the Iranian embassy, and attempted to set it ablaze – but his match went out prior to hitting the fluid. The next month, Bahar committed a similar act in front of the U.S. embassy, where he successfully set a police cruiser on fire during a pro-Palestine protest. Two police officers were inside the cruiser at the time.
Between April and May of 2024, Bahar assaulted police officers on four separate occasions, but he would only be taken into custody in October after he was caught in connection to three anti-Semitic vandalism incidents – two at Kottbuser Tor, and one at Schönleinstraße – in which he spray painted a Star of David intertwined with a swastika.
This past week, Bahar declined to appear in court, and instead had a statement read out through his lawyer reading: “My actions were purely symbolic. I experienced police brutality and the criminalization of people who show solidarity with Gaza in Germany. That triggered deep frustration and hopelessness in me. For a brief moment, flames should be visible on the instruments of the German government. I did not intend to endanger people and used only small amounts of lighter fuel. I can estimate that, I studied physical chemistry. Today, it is clear to me that I shouldn’t repeat these actions, as they will not lead to any results.”
According to the Berliner Zeitung, a court spokesperson confirmed that Bahar is being housed in Berlin’s women’s prison. The verdict in his case is expected to be delivered on January 31. If sentenced to prison time, Bahar will likely remain in the female estate.
In 2021, Berlin introduced gender self-identification policies in correctional facilities, psychiatric units, and pre-trial detention, leading to men, including dangerous sex offenders and pedophiles, being transferred to units with women.
Among the German federal states, Berlin stands out for transferring the most men into women’s prisons. According to official information from Berlin’s Senate Department for Justice, since 2023, “15 individuals registered as male at birth have been incarcerated in Berlin’s women’s prison.”
GERMANY: Transgender convicts are being sent to women's prisons ahead of a new self-identification law coming into force in November.
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) August 28, 2024
Some of the inmates are known sex offenders, but the government is refusing to release official data to prevent "stigma."https://t.co/5UK9xFg0eh
Berlin’s Ministry of Justice describes 15 men in a women’s prison as a “small number” and has refused to disclose the nature of their crimes, claiming it is a “risk to the anonymity of these individuals.” The Ministry of Justice has also cited “stigmatization” as a reason against releasing information on their crimes.
Bahar is not the first trans-identified male to come to Germany as a refugee and commit serious crimes. In May of 2024, Reduxx reported on a man from South Africa who stabbed a Syrian security guard to death in a refugee shelter in Potsdam, Germany.
The perpetrator, who identified as a “woman,” fled the scene, leading to an extensive manhunt.
Bizarrely, only three hours after the manhunt began, the perpetrator himself called the police to report that he had been a victim of discrimination regarding his so-called gender identity in an Edeka supermarket close to the crime scene.
The officers recorded his complaint as a “transphobic incident” without initially realizing he was linked to the Potsdam manhunt. He was apprehended a day later and charged with manslaughter. His trial is expected to commence soon, following the Berlin homicide squad’s search for witnesses.
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