Gang rape trial in the city park
The verdicts in the gang rape trial in Hamburg's Stadtpark are to be announced after a year and a half of hearings. Ten young men are accused of abusing a 15-year-old girl in September 2020 before the youth chamber at the district court. Unlike the previous trial, the sentencing on Tuesday (9.30 a.m.) will be partly public.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the 15-year-old had attended a party on the festival grounds of the city park on September 19, 2020. The park had become a popular meeting place during the coronavirus pandemic. Heavily intoxicated, the teenager had been abused in a bush, sometimes using violence.
Defense demands acquittal
The public prosecutor's office has demanded sentences of one year and three months to three years for nine defendants, according to a court spokesperson. In three cases, the sentence is to be suspended on probation, in two other cases the decision on a suspended sentence will be made at a later date. The public prosecutor's office has requested acquittal for one defendant. The defense has also demanded acquittal - for all ten defendants.
Due to the age of the 19 to 23-year-old defendants at the time of the crime, the trial is being conducted by a youth chamber. The public was excluded at the start of the trial on May 10, 2022. On Tuesday, the spectators are to leave the courtroom after the sentence is announced and a summary of the reasons for the verdict is given.
According to earlier information from the Senate, four of the defendants are German, while a further four have Armenian, Afghan, Kuwaiti and Montenegrin citizenship. The nationality of two of the accused was to be clarified by the court.
The court has heard 96 witnesses and several experts over the 67 days of the trial so far. An eleventh defendant was acquitted on April 5 of this year and the proceedings against him were severed.
Source: www.dpa.com
