In custody since summer 2023
Gang rape in Mallorca? Suspects back in Germany
A police officer from the Spanish Policia Nacional patrols the beach of El Arenal on Mallorca (symbolic image)
© Clara Margais / DPA
Five Germans are said to have raped an 18-year-old in 2023. The men are now back from custody. But investigations are ongoing.
Against the five Germans who were accused of a gang rape on Mallorca, the investigations are still ongoing in Spain despite their return to NRW. In parallel, however, a so-called mirror procedure is pending against the five young men at the public prosecutor’s office in Hagen, explained an authority spokesman.
The five accused are between the ages of 22 and 24 and have all since returned to Lüdenscheid in the Märkischer Kreis. On August 8, four of them were granted bail in Mallorca, explained senior public prosecutor Michael Burggräf. The fifth person was released over a year ago. The release of the four suspects was announced around two weeks ago – without any details being given.
The group of five holidaymakers at the time was taken into custody in Mallorca in the summer of 2023 on suspicion of gang rape. They are said to have forced an 18-year-old holidaymaker from Germany, whom one of them had met on the beach at Ballermann, to have sexual intercourse in the hotel – or to have watched it happen without doing anything. One member of the group of friends was released after a short time – and returned to North Rhine-Westphalia. The others have been back in Germany for a few weeks.
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The actual investigation against the five men will continue to be conducted in Spain, the proceedings there have priority, stressed the senior public prosecutor. Should these proceedings lead to a trial, the main hearing would probably be held in Spain, Burggräf clarified.
Suspect faces long prison sentence in Mallorca
In parallel, a “mirror case” is pending in North Rhine-Westphalia, explained senior public prosecutor Michael Burggräf. If the Spanish authorities were to hand the case over to Germany, the Hagen public prosecutor’s office could then actively get involved in the investigation. However, as long as the Spanish authorities do not request to take over, the authority in North Rhine-Westphalia will not investigate itself. Therefore, no contact has been made with the accused so far, said Burggräf. However, the authority is in contact with the Spanish authorities.
If convicted in Spain, the suspects face prison sentences of up to twelve years.