Husseen K is accused of raping and killing a young woman in October
2016. The teenage Afghan refugee had been convicted of attempted murder
in Greece in 2014 (AFP Photo/THOMAS KIENZLE)
A
young refugee who claims to be from Afghanistan went on trial Tuesday
for the rape and murder of a German student, in a case that shocked the
country and reignited tensions over its liberal asylum policy.
The
accused, identified by the court as Huseen K., was arrested in the
southwestern town of Freiburg last December, accused of brutally raping a
19-year-old medical student and leaving her for dead on a river bank
seven weeks earlier.
An autopsy concluded that the woman had drowned, with the asylum seeker's DNA found at the scene.
The
crime made headlines nationwide and triggered a fresh wave of anger
over Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to open Germany's borders to
refugees at the height of Europe's migrant crisis in 2015.
"This is the trial the whole country has been waiting for," Germany's best-selling tabloid Bild wrote.
Outrage
was fuelled by the revelation that the man had previously been jailed
for attempted murder in Greece for pushing a woman off a cliff in Corfu
in 2014.
He
was sentenced to 10 years but walked free after serving little more
than a year as part of a Greek initiative to free up space in the
country's crowded prisons.
The
Greek authorities then lost track of him and he arrived in Germany in
2015, registering as an unaccompanied minor from Afghanistan.
Critics
have used the case to highlight what they see as the poor vetting of
asylum seekers during the chaotic influx of 2015, and the lack of
communication between countries about migrants with criminal
backgrounds.
- Age unclear -
Questions still remain about the suspect's age and background.
The
accused claims he was 17 at the time of the murder, but German
prosecutors believe he is at least 22 years old today and want him to be
tried as an adult.
They
accuse him of "maliciously" attacking the young woman as she was
cycling home that evening "to satisfy his sexual urges" before leaving
the unconscious victim to drown.
The accused was born in Iran, according to court documents, but the suspect himself has said he is from Afghanistan.
The
defendant surprised the Freiburg court Tuesday by stating that he
wanted to speak at his trial, which opened with people queing to enter
the courtroom.
"I want to testify," he told the judges, reversing an earlier stance to stay silent.
Sixteen days of hearings have been scheduled for the trial, with a verdict expected in December at the earliest.
source Yahoo-news
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