Wednesday, March 12
Get out of jail free: 15 Berliners released from prison by “Freedom Fund”
Yesterday, 50 people were released from prison across Germany—15 of them in Berlin—after their penalties were paid off by the Freedom Fund initiative, an organisation that seeks to raise money to free people who have been imprisoned in Germany for riding public transport without a valid ticket.
It might seem strange that Schwarzfahren, or riding illegally, can result in a prison sentence at all, but thousands of people are actually imprisoned each year for the offence. The law is controversial in Germany, and the Freedom Fund (Freiheitsfond) initiative is actively campaigning to have it overturned.
As they point out, it is overwhelmingly people in vulnerable living situations who suffer. Eighty-seven per cent of those imprisoned are unemployed, 15 per cent lack a permanent residence, and another 15 per cent are considered at risk of suicide.
Since starting their campaign in 2021, the Freedom Fund has freed 1,288 prisoners, wiping out 237 years of jail time and even saving the state a significant sum of money. Locking people up is expensive, and with an investment of just €1.1 million, they have saved the state from needing to spend €18.3 million to keep these people incarcerated for what are demonstrably minor offences.
The campaign aims to go further and repeal §265a of the German Criminal Code, which criminalises riding public transport without a ticket. As they point out, under the current law, it is a more severe offence to lack a ticket for the BVG than it is to drive a vehicle while intoxicated.
