A Libyan man has been sentenced to nine years in prison in Hamburg. The prosecution had accused the man of rape and murder of a 20-year-old and demanded a life sentence. But the sentence was now much more lenient.
The violent death of a 20-year-old woman at the beginning of last year in Hamburg’s Neuallermöhe district was not murder, according to the conviction of the competent chamber of the Regional Court. In the case of the death of the young woman in the bicycle cellar of her apartment building, the district court sentenced the accused to nine years in prison.
The 24-year-old was guilty of attempted murder by omission and of giving narcotics resulting in death, explained Birgit Woitas, chairperson of the criminal division, in her statement of reasons for the verdict on Monday.
The prosecution had assumed murder in connection with rape and sexual assault. The accused had been stalking the 20-year-old for months, threatening her and beating her at least once, the prosecutor explained in her plea. The young woman had refused contact and finally even called the police.
However, on January 9, 2021, she had met with the accused, presumably to buy drugs from him. After taking a methadone tablet, she allowed herself to be led to the bicycle cellar in her house. There, the man allegedly raped the 20-year-old and suffocated her with his jeans.
The 24-year-old had explained through his defence lawyers that he had gone to a playground with the woman in the evening. After consensual sex in a bush, they had sat on a park bench until 4.00 a.m. Then they went to the basement of the apartment building, where the woman fell asleep. It was only after 1 p.m. that he noticed she was no longer breathing and alerted the emergency services.
The court had not seen sufficient evidence for murder already at the opening of the trial. Therefore, the admitted charge was initially manslaughter. The judges now decided that there was not even enough evidence for manslaughter. It could not be said with sufficient certainty that the Libyan had raped the woman and actively blocked her airways.
However, it is also undisputed by the court that the accused had given the young woman a methadone tablet and an antispasmodic medication on the evening of January 9th. Afterwards, both had had sexual intercourse. The judge explained that it could not be established beyond doubt that this had happened against the woman’s will. Afterwards, the 20-year-old woman had become unconscious and the accused had dragged her into the bicycle cellar.
He had recognised the danger of methadone, but had not called for help in time. However, it remained unclear when he realised that she would die without help. At the same time, it was unclear whether the woman could have been saved at that time. Therefore, the crime was to be assessed as attempted murder by omission.
The prosecution had demanded life imprisonment, as had the plaintiff. The defence pleaded for acquittal. The verdict is not yet final.