Former spouse emotionally describes captor during court hearing.
The previous year, a 35-year-old man abducted his own daughter and tried to flee to Turkey at the Hamburg airport with the use of weapons. His ex-wife is now testifying in court about domestic abuse, fearing for her safety upon his release.
During the trial of the Hamburg airport hostage-taker, his ex-wife described the accused as unstable and hostile. Before the hostage situation in November of the previous year, when the 35-year-old Turkish man attempted to force an exit with his daughter on a plane to Turkey, he had used the child to control her. The 39-year-old mother testified in front of the Great Criminal Chamber of the Hamburg Regional Court via video. On November 4 of the previous year, the 35-year-old man managed to enter her apartment in Stade, Germany, by tricking her. He threatened her with a weapon and took the then four-year-old child into custody. "I could've been more careful," the woman cried out.
Then the man drove to the Hamburg airport with the child, broke through multiple barriers with a rental car, and advanced as far as the airfield. There, he threw two Molotov cocktails, fired three shots into the air, and threatened to detonate a pretend explosive belt. It took 18 hours for the 35-year-old to surrender and be arrested. The so-called explosive belt was revealed to be a dummy.
"Indeed, domestic violence escalated"
She met the accused on the internet in 2017 via a Facebook group. They later married in Istanbul. Initially, their marriage was secret from their respective families. When asked by the judge why they married so quickly, she replied, "What can I say? Love?" At the beginning, her husband was very supportive and caring.
The couple wanted a child to help his stay in Germany. To become pregnant, she had to travel to her husband in Istanbul. Later, he came to her in Hamburg on a tourist visa. "I noticed that he sometimes got out of control," the woman recalled. "Domestic violence escalated," she added. After the birth of their daughter, things were good for a short while, but the arguments increased rapidly. Even the subject of separation had been discussed. However, she kept the relationship going. They decided to move into a larger apartment in Stade together. "I didn't want to break up the family," said the woman. "I wanted my daughter to grow up with her father, and that's why I put up with everything."
Time and time again, the accused had threatened her in the arguments to take the child away. "I gave you the child, so I can also take it away from you," he said. He eventually left with the child to Turkey. Although a Turkish court initially granted him temporary custody, he did not give her the child back. Only after weeks did she manage to reclaim her daughter and return to Germany.
The defendant mostly followed his ex-wife's statement without reacting. However, he ripped off the headphones he was using to translate her testimony into Turkish when she spoke about having to "become a good wife" to be allowed to return to her child in Turkey, moving into his apartment, and engaging in sexual relations. After a warning from the judge, he replaced the headphones. The divorce from her husband occurred just a month before the hostage-taking at Hamburg Airport, the woman revealed. After the incident, she and her daughter were hospitalized due to the psychological stress. She is still in treatment and takes medication. "I feel extremely guilty toward my daughter because I couldn't protect her," she said.
A psychologist questioned how the witness was doing and what her feelings were. "I'm frightened when he's released," she answered.
Her ex-husband is facing a lengthy prison sentence. The prosecution accuses him of kidnapping, child deprivation, premeditated violence, and various firearm infractions.
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In light of the hostage-taking incident at the Hamburg airport, concerns about the accused's behavior and potential for future harm have been raised internationally. His ex-wife testified that he had used their daughter as a tool to exert control and had threatened to take her away during their turbulent marriage.
The hostage-taking incident in November, involving the Turkish man who attempted to escape with his daughter to Turkey, has brought international attention to the issue of international parental child abduction. This is particularly relevant in light of the man's past attempts to use his daughter as a means of control and threaten her mother with taking her away.
