Fire fighters stand near a tram in Gera on March 16, 2025. Photo by Bodo Schackow / dpa / AFP
Berlin: A 46-year-old Georgian man who had been on the run after allegedly setting fire to his wife on a tram in Germany turned himself in on Monday, police said.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser condemned the "horrific crime" which she said was being treated as "an attempted femicide". She urged tougher steps to protect women.
The man, who was not named, is accused of dousing his wife with a flammable liquid and setting fire to her inside a tram in the eastern city of Gera on Sunday.
"She was sprayed with flammable liquid and set alight by a man," police said, later giving information that the suspect was believed to be the victim's husband.
The man fled when the doors opened after other passengers pressed the emergency stop button.
The tram driver used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames but the woman, also 46, had already sustained life-threatening injuries and was taken by helicopter to hospital.
On Monday, police said that "the suspect turned himself in at the Gera police station shortly before 9:00 am (0800 GMT) and was arrested there without resistance".
Police had launched a search for the suspect on suspicion of attempted murder and have appealed for witnesses to contact them.
Faeser said in a statement that "this horrific act is not an isolated incident. Statistically, there is a femicide in Germany almost every day.
"Every three minutes, a woman or girl in Germany experiences domestic violence. Every day, more than 140 women and girls in Germany become victims of a sexual crime."
Faeser called for "tougher action against perpetrators and more attention and support for victims".
