crime
Judge exchange after rape allegation in Mallorca
Police officers lead the suspects to the appointment with the magistrate on the Balearic island. photo
© Clara Margais/dpa
The alleged gang rape of a young German tourist on Mallorca by several holidaymakers from Germany made headlines in Spain. Now there is unexpected news.
surprise in the case of the alleged gang rape Mallorca: According to her own statements, a lawyer has obtained a change in the responsible investigating judge. The judge, who sent five accused vacationers from Germany into custody on Saturday, will be replaced by another at her request, the Spaniard told the German Press Agency yesterday.
The “Mallorca Zeitung” initially reported on the exchange of judges, citing court circles on the Mediterranean island. A justice spokesman in Palma confirmed this information on request.
On Thursday night, the suspects, aged between 21 and 23, are said to have forced a younger but adult tourist from Germany to have sex in a hotel room at Ballermann or watched idly. According to the police, one of the suspects filmed the crime with his cell phone. The victim was able to escape to the bathroom and alert the police.
Chances for accused are improving
The development in the case, which is causing a stir in Spain even beyond the borders of Mallorca, is not meaningless. Since the previously responsible judge Antoni Rotger is considered to be particularly rigorous and unyielding, the island’s media agree that the chances of the accused being released on bail and conditionally soon improve. Against this background, the “Mallorca Zeitung”, for example, spoke of a “glimmer of hope” from the holidaymakers’ point of view.
They could also hope to be allowed to return home pending a decision on whether to indict and stand trial. In Spain, pre-trial detention can last up to two years – and can be extended under certain circumstances.
The lawyer told the dpa that it was she who had obtained the release of a sixth member of the group of friends, who had also been arrested at first. Mallorquin media reported, citing investigators, that he credibly assured the judge at the hearing that he had slept on a sofa during the crime and had not done or noticed anything.
It was not initially clear how many of the suspects the Spanish lawyer would represent. So far, there is no official information on which federal state the holidaymakers come from.
New investigative court
From now on, the investigative court number 5 will decide on the further course of the investigation in the case of the alleged gang rape – and no longer the court number 8 led by judge Rotger. According to “Mallorca Zeitung”, the exchange was requested with the argument that Rotger was at the time of the alleged crime not been the judge on duty.
Rotger had ordered the detention over the weekend and refused to be released on bail. He was the judge who, around a year ago, had put eight of the accused in custody for almost two months in the case of the amateur bowlers from the Münsterland accused of setting fire to Mallorca. In Germany, some media referred to him at the time as a “hard-hitting” judge.
The “kegel brothers” were released in mid-July 2022 when the group’s legal team – which included the Spaniard – took advantage of Rotger’s vacation to seek bail. This was approved by a representative of the judge.