Children thrown out the window by father Prosecution calls for life sentence
Prosecutors have asked for a lifelong sentence for the Syrian refugee father who threw his three children out the window of a first-floor apartment. Arguments were heard in court.
On Tuesday in Bonn District Court, prosecutors asked for a lifelong sentence for the Syrian man who threw his three children out the window of an apartment where the refugee family had been staying. The incident happened on February 1 in Lohmar; the 35-year-old is charged with three cases of attempted first-degree murder. In cases where it is an attempt as opposed to actual murder, the sentencing can be made more lenient and this is usually applied. However, prosecutor Florian Geßler sees no reason for a milder sentence.
In the incident, the 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter suffered life-threatening injuries. The one-year-old escaped serious injury because she fell on top of her brother. The prosecution says the kids were completely defenseless when they were picked up like “Christmas trees” and thrown out the window. “He used the children like objects to punish his wife, whom in his eyes was not obedient,” read Geßler in the prosecution statement.
The defendant broke out in tears as his children were mentioned. He was ordered to remain in handcuffs by the judge due to previous behavior in the courtroom. Geßler argued further that one could only understand what had happened by looking at the history – it was an arranged marriage: “This is a perfect example that such marriages are not good marriages.”
Problems had already begun early in the marriage, with the man wanting to give his wife back because she was not as obedient as he expected. He began beating her. He decided to flee to Germany where everything would be better, as his wife promised. But instead, in his eyes things got worse. His wife became more independent, took a language course, and he became more angry. On January 4 when she refused to make him a cup of tea, he hit her over the head with a pan. She called police and he was banned from the apartment for ten days. When she made clear to her husband on February 1 that she would no longer let him rule over her, he carried out the action against the children.
Gudrun Roth, attorney for the mother and children, accused the defendant of using the children as a pawn and deeply traumatizing them, and supported the statement from prosecution. Defense attorney Martin Kretschmer asked for the court to consider the conditions in which his client had lived in Syria, “He grew up in a world where violence and brutality were a daily occurrence,” stated Kretschmer. His father and brother had been shot dead and he too had been shot. Kretschmer argued that his client was a simple person who reacted like a child, and that his concept of how a woman should be was determined by his background. He said his client was sorry if he hurt someone and that he loved his children and didn’t understand what he had done.
A verdict is expected on November 3.
(Orig. text: Rita Klein)
