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Arne Semsrott, a journalist and activist, embarked on a mission in late 2021 with €20,000 ($21,200; £17,000) in his pockets. Some of the money was his own, while the rest was borrowed from friends. His destination was Plötzensee prison in Berlin, where he planned to buy the freedom of as many prisoners as possible using the cash he had gathered. Arne had discovered a legal loophole in Germany that allowed people sentenced to pay a fine to avoid paying it themselves. By exploiting this loophole, he aimed to draw attention to what he saw as a significant injustice: the law that enabled judges to imprison individuals for not purchasing a ticket for public transportation. On the first day of his mission, he was able to free 12 men from Plötzensee prison and nine women from Lichtenberg prison the following day. Since then, Arne and his organization, Freiheitsfonds (The Freedom Fund), have helped approximately 850 people regain their freedom at a cost of over €800,000. Arne believes the law is unfair and discriminates against individuals who lack financial resources, housing, and are already in crisis. He argues that this law needs to change in order to create a democratic and just society. It is estimated that around 7,000 people are serving prison sentences in Germany for fare evasion on trains, trams, or buses. While most of them were initially sentenced to pay a fine, they were unable to do so. These individuals are serving substitute custodial sentences. However, some have been sent directly to prison. Gisa März is one such person. She spent four months in prison from November to March because she was caught twice without a ticket on trains in Düsseldorf. Gisa, a small and fragile-looking woman in her mid-50s, supports herself in part by selling the Düsseldorf street magazine fiftyfifty. Despite efforts by Fiftyfifty and others to raise awareness of her case, Gisa ended up behind bars due to her failure to comply with the court's conditions. While Arne could not assist Gisa because she was not sentenced to pay a fine, he believes that individuals like her should never be imprisoned. Many prison governors share this viewpoint. Arne claims that prisons welcome the Freedom Fund's efforts because individuals who end up in prison for fare evasion do not belong there. They often have psychological issues and lack housing, needing assistance from social services instead. Arne notes that many prisons distribute the Freedom Fund's application form to individuals as they begin their sentences, illustrating the absurdity of the situation. By purchasing the freedom of 850 people, Arne's organization has saved the state an estimated €12 million, based on the daily cost of imprisoning someone. Public transport companies in Germany have opposed any changes to the law, arguing that the threat of prison serves as a deterrent for serial offenders and that fare evasion costs the industry around €300 million annually. It is uncertain if the law will be revised before Germany's next parliamentary election in 2025. However, Gisa März's case has sparked change in Düsseldorf, where the city council has instructed the local transport authority, Rheinbahn, not to prosecute individuals caught without a ticket. Rheinbahn has confirmed it will comply with this directive until further notice.