Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Teen suspect’s new book claims he didn’t abuse Brit

In a new book, the German teenager accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old British girl during a family vacation in Turkey pleads his innocence and details his time behind bars even before a Turkish court has ruled on the case.

Published: 28 November 2008 12:15 CET
Teen suspect's new book claims he didn't abuse Brit
Photo: DPA

The German-language memoir “Marco W. – My 247 Days in a Turkish Clink” hit the shelves Friday and covers not only the fateful minutes between Marco Weiss, 18, and the alleged victim but also Weiss’ thoughts and experiences as he awaited trial in a Turkish cell.

“But before it could even start it was already over for me … Maybe she was mad because she had hoped for much more. In any case, I pushed her hand away, turned over on my side and pulled up my zipper,” Weiss writes in the book, which is being excerpted by Bild.

Weiss was arrested April 12, 2007 at his hotel in Antalya, Turkey after the girl, dubbed “Caroline” in the book, and her parents went to the police. The arrest and ensuing trials sparked a media firestorm that highlighted decades-old tensions between Turkey and Germany, home to 3.5 million Turkish nationals, as well as Germany and the U.K.

The book is being released two weeks ahead of schedule by kids books specialist Hamburger Kinderbuch Verlag due to strong demand. The title is an homage to how German media referred to Weiss during the ordeal – ethical guidelines prohibit media outlets from ever publishing the last names of victims and suspects.

Weiss at the time – and in his book – said he thought the girl was 15 and maintained that any sexual contact was consensual. He also said things moved too quickly for him after meeting the girl in a disco and had plans to tell her they weren’t a match.

For her part, the girl reportedly said Weiss had sexually abused her while she slept.

Weiss was eventually set free and returned to Germany in a private jet pending the outcome of the trial. If he is found guilty, he would be able to sit out the sentence in a German jail though legal experts expect the charges to be thrown out by spring.

Although the book’s publication has sparked the resignation of one of Weiss’ attorneys, his remaining lawyers in Germany and Turkey said they understand the teenager’s literary ambitions. “Writing this book is important and useful for processing the experience psychologically,” attorney Michael Nagel told daily Die Welt.

CRIME

Nine face trial in Germany for alleged far-right coup plot

The first members of a far-right group that allegedly plotted to attack the German parliament and overthrow the government will go on trial in Stuttgart on Monday.

Published: 29 April 2024 08:32 CEST
Nine face trial in Germany for alleged far-right coup plot

Nine suspected participants in the coup plot will take the stand in the first set of proceedings to open in the sprawling court case, split among three courts in three cities.

The suspects are accused of having participated in the “military arm” of the organisation led by the minor aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss.

The alleged plot is the most high-profile recent case of far-right violence, which officials say has grown to become the biggest extremist threat in Germany.

The organisation led by Reuss was an eclectic mix of characters and included, among others, a former special forces soldier, a former far-right MP, an astrologer, and a well-known chef.

Reuss, along with other suspected senior members of the group, will face trial in the second of the three cases, in Frankfurt in late May.

The group aimed to install him as head of state after its planned takeover.

Heinrich XIII arrested at his home following a raid in 2022.

Heinrich XIII arrested at his home following a raid in 2022. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

The alleged plotters espoused a mix of “conspiracy myths” drawn from the global QAnon movement and the German Reichsbûrger (Citizens of the Reich) scene, according to prosecutors.

The Reichsbürger movement includes right-wing extremists and gun enthusiasts who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic.

Its followers generally believe in the continued existence of the pre-World War I German Reich, or empire, under a monarchy, and several groups have declared their own states.

Such Reichsbürger groups were driven by “hatred of our democracy”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in Berlin on Sunday.

“We will continue our tough approach until we have fully exposed and dismantled militant ‘Reichsbürger’ structures,” she added.

READ ALSO: Who was involved in the alleged plot to overthrow German democracy?

‘Treasonous undertaking’

According to investigators, Reuss’s group shared a belief that Germany was run by members of a “deep state” and that the country could be liberated with the help of a secret international alliance.

The nine men to stand trial in Stuttgart are accused by prosecutors of preparing a “treasonous undertaking” as part of the Reichsbürger plot.

As part of the group, they are alleged to have aimed to “forcibly eliminate the existing state order” and replace it with their own institutions.

The members of the military arm were tasked with establishing, supplying and recruiting new members for “territorial defence companies”, according to prosecutors.

Among the accused are a special forces soldier, identified only as Andreas M. in line with privacy laws, who is said to have used his access to scout out army barracks.

Others were allegedly responsible for the group’s IT systems or were tasked with liaising with the fictitious underground “alliance”, which they thought would rally to the plotters’ aid when the coup was launched.

The nine include Alexander Q., who is accused by federal prosecutors of acting as the group’s propagandist, spreading conspiracy theories via the Telegram messaging app.

Two of the defendants, Markus L. and Ralf S., are accused of weapons offences in addition to the charge of treason.

Markus L. is also accused of attempted murder for allegedly turning an assault rifle on police and injuring two officers during a raid at his address in March 2023.

Police swooped in to arrest most of the group in raids across Germany in December 2022 and the charges were brought at the end of last year.

Three-part trial 

Proceedings in Stuttgart are set to continue until early 2025.

In all, 26 people are accused in the huge case against the extremist network, with trials also set to open in Munich and Frankfurt.

Reuss will stand trial in Frankfurt from May 21st, alongside another ringleader, an ex-army officer identified as Ruediger v.P., and a former MP for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.

The Reichsbürger group had allegedly organised a “council” to take charge after their planned putsch, with officials warning preparations were at an advanced stage.

The alleged plotters had resources amounting to 500,000 euros ($536,000) and a “massive arsenal of weapons”, according to federal prosecutors.

Long dismissed as malcontents and oddballs, believers in Reichsbuerger-type conspiracies have become increasingly radicalised in recent years and are seen as a growing security threat.

Earlier this month, police charged a new suspect in relation to another coup plot.

The plotters, frustrated with pandemic-era restrictions, planned to kidnap the German health minister, according to investigators.

Five other suspected co-conspirators in that plot went on trial in Koblenz last May.

SHOW COMMENTS