Crime: rape process in Hamburg without public – Panorama

The rape of a 15-year-old in Hamburg’s city park caused great outrage. Eleven young men are now on trial.

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Hamburg – A good year and a half after the rape of a 15-year-old in Hamburg’s city park, the trial of eleven young men has begun.

However, not much of the details of the proceedings at the district court will get out – the youth chamber excluded the public right from the start of the proceedings. The presiding judge Anne Meyer-Goering said on Tuesday that the intimate and sexual sphere of the young co-plaintiff, but also that of the accused, must be protected. The spectators had to leave the courtroom before the indictment was read.

A defendant filmed the event

Ten of the accused between the ages of 18 and 22 are said to have raped the 15-year-old, as the public prosecutor had previously announced. An eleventh defendant is accused of aiding and abetting the production of youth pornographic content and violation of the most personal sphere of life through image recordings. He is said to have filmed the event with his cell phone. The public prosecutor’s office also raises this allegation against one of the ten main defendants, who is also said to have stolen the handbag with the girl’s valuables.

According to the information, the 15-year-old attended a party on September 19, 2020 on the festival lawn of the city park. Heavily drunk, she met one of the accused late in the evening. He led her into a bush. Three other suspects were added there. The men had abused the young people, sometimes using violence. After that, the 15-year-old was led twice into a bush and raped by other defendants. The accused took advantage of the girl’s limited resilience, the prosecutor said.

With or without the public?

The defense counsel and the representative of the co-plaintiff had filed the application for the exclusion of the public. The public prosecutor’s office did not agree. According to the judge, one of the three defendants, who were young people at the time of the crime, also objected. The public must be able to get an idea of ​​the “true circumstances” of the crime, he said.

The court recognized a significant public interest. But the protection of the highly personal sphere of life of the co-plaintiff, the accused and numerous underage witnesses prevails. This is particularly true against the background of previous media coverage and the “heated mood” in public, said Meyer-Göring. She indicated that the closing pleadings and parts of the oral verdict will likely also be non-public.

How far can the protection of perpetrators go?

The act had led to a heated debate last year. In a collection of signatures, the “publication of the faces of the perpetrators” was demanded. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the Hamburg police initiated 144 preliminary investigations. Among other things, it was about photos, addresses or other details of alleged perpetrators that were published. 79 of the procedures were handed over to the Attorney General’s Office. Some cases were discontinued because there was no suspicion or because the accused were not of criminal age.

According to a Senate response to small inquiries from the CDU and AfD parliamentary groups, four of the accused are German, six have other nationalities, and one’s nationality is unclear. The court has appointed an interpreter for Arabic.

A court spokesman emphasized that the presumption of innocence applies to the accused, as in all criminal proceedings, until a final conviction. A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office said: “We hope that the main proceedings can take place in a different climate, in a constitutional and fair environment.” The youth chamber has scheduled 41 further hearings until December 20th.

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