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Police forces in Görlitzer Park: Discussions about security measures

Photo: Jörg Carstensen/dpa

With great public interest, the trial of an alleged rape in Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg has begun before the Berlin Regional Court.

Surprisingly, the presiding judge Thilo Bartl announced that there was new evidence: a seven-second video that was taken during the crime.

The defense sees this sequence as a turning point in the proceedings.

You may see something different than what is currently on record, said lawyer Eckart Fleischmann.

The prosecution's charges are based on incomplete investigations and partly false witness statements; another defense attorney said his client was innocent.

It remained unclear why one of the defendants only brought the video to the attention of investigators after months in custody.

The accused men come from Somalia and Guinea and are said to have attacked a couple in the park on June 21, 2023, robbed them and raped the woman several times.

The public prosecutor's office accuses the 22 and 23 year olds of particularly serious rape, grievous bodily harm and particularly serious robbery.

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The alleged rape victim, who was 27 years old at the time of the crime, comes from Georgia and the woman is a co-plaintiff in the trial.

Her lawyer Roland Weber announced that the woman would be willing to come to Germany and testify in court.

Unlike the defense, Weber assumes that criminal acts took place that night.

"There are traces of semen, injuries and statements from residents who heard a man and a woman's cries for help and called the police."

The case had once again sparked a discussion about security measures in Görlitzer Park, which is one of the crime hotspots in Berlin, primarily because of drug trafficking.

jjc/dpa