Freiburg (dpa / lsw) – They are said to have locked a woman in a Freiburg apartment and raped them together: Three men have been standing in front of the Freiburg regional court because of this and other allegations since Thursday morning. The proceedings are even more explosive because two of the three accused have already been convicted of another group rape: In October 2018, the court was convinced that they were involved in the rape of an then 18-year-old in front of a Freiburg disco. However, the judgments are not yet final. So are the men multiple offenders? The court will have to clarify this question.
The prosecution’s indictment states that the three men and the then 20-year-old victim were together on the night of the crime in September 2017 in a room in the apartment of one of the accused in Freiburg. One of the men locked the door and kept the key with him. Drugs were used. When the men started to watch porn, the woman wanted to leave the room, according to the prosecution, but was prevented from doing so and threatened with a knife and injured her finger. The three Syrians then raped the woman.
Only one of the three accused wants to comment on the allegations on Thursday: a 25-year-old man with curly hair and shackles, who came to Germany as a refugee in 2015 and who has been in custody since October 2018 – because of the gang rape in front of the disco.
In the new proceedings, he rejects the allegations, and sometimes seems annoyed by the questions posed by the prosecutor. On the night in question in September 2017, there was no sexual intercourse with the co-plaintiff in his co-defendant’s apartment. “What she claims is not true,” he said. They “chilled” together, they took “a lot of amphetamines and cocaine”, it was “heavy”.
Yes, they watched a short piece of porn, he says, but there was no sexual intercourse or violence. Contrary to what the woman said, the door to the room was not locked. And a cut on the co-plaintiff’s finger did not come from a knife. The woman had already suffered the injury with a broken tea glass.
According to the descriptions of the 25-year-old, the co-plaintiff had been living in the other defendant’s apartment for weeks before the alleged night of the crime and had a sexual relationship with him. When he finally threw her out, she became angry and possibly filed a complaint against the three men out of resentment.
The court cannot take the woman’s point of view on Thursday. It does not appear at the start of the process. According to her defense attorney, she is not physically well. The trip to court scared her and her mother, as the planned companion, jumped off. Basically, she wants to testify.
Prosecutor Rainer Schmid says after the first day of the trial that around two dozen witnesses could be questioned. The last day of negotiations is scheduled for May 20th. In addition to group rape, there are also other allegations in the room. For example, one of the defendants is said to have attacked his girlfriend and then injured a man who wanted to rush to help. The process will also involve exhibitionist acts and attempted sexual assault.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210311-99-777580 / 4
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