Euskirchen (dpa / lnw) - After a criminal rocker escaped from prison in Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (Greens) rejected the accusation that he was late in informing the legal committee about the incident. It is common practice and agreement not to report to the legal committee about every escape from the open prison, Limbach said on Tuesday at a special meeting of the legal committee. In this case, contrary to practice, he did it because a newspaper wanted to report on the case.
The 35-year-old was due to be released next June and had been transferred from closed to open prison in preparation for release, from which he disappeared on January 16. The "Bild" newspaper reported that the prisoner was a former boss of the banned rocker group Bandidos. He was convicted of illegal gun possession after a shootout with a Hells Angels rival. He also went into hiding shortly before entering prison in 2021. According to the report, the man is said to have disappeared during a yard walk.
