For hours, the woman talked about the martyrdom she had to suffer in her marriage. The accused, her husband, has now been convicted of assault and rape.
Northern County – The wife's testimony was decisive: Did she invent beatings and rapes out of jealousy because her husband took a second wife in Iran? "Or variant number 2," said presiding judge Thomas Lindinger in the verdict: "It was so." After five days of negotiations with an hour-long questioning of the wife, the sixth criminal chamber of the district court was convinced of "variant number 2" and sentenced the 38-year-old employee from the northern district on Friday to a total prison sentence of four years and six months for assault and rape with bodily injury in two cases.
Closed-door interviews
Prosecutor Eva-Maria Jakob had demanded a prison sentence of six years and two months. Defense attorney Fabian Gartner had requested an acquittal following his client's protestations of innocence. Gartner's request to obtain a psychological expert opinion on the last day of the trial had been rejected by the board after a short deliberation, citing its own expertise. Neither the personality of the woman nor her testimony had given reason to consult a psychological expert, according to Lindinger. The woman had "always testified in essence the same" over a longer period of time and in several police interrogations. In addition, the court itself had been able to get an idea of the injured party for hours. "Shameful in her statements, extremely reserved," she was, according to Lindinger. The questioning had taken place behind closed doors. According to reports, it only had to be interrupted once because the woman suffered a breakdown.
In addition to the suspicion that she had reported him out of jealousy, the defendant had mentioned several times in court that his wife was mentally ill. But even this did not bear fruit with the Chamber. Lindinger referred to the observations of witnesses who would complete the picture, above all the children of the couple.
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The 17-year-old son had visibly found it difficult to testify against his father. Nevertheless, according to Lindinger, he did not hide the fact that there had been "a climate of fear and violence" in the family, even towards the children. His father had already beaten his mother when they were still living in Iran. The reason was that she wanted to attend a language course. The 17-year-old observed the first charge himself and confirmed it in court: On November 19, 2020, the defendant pushed his wife in the stairwell of their apartment building and choked her for at least a minute because she was not supposed to have a cell phone. Then he pushed her down the stairs. In June 2021 and April 2022, according to the verdict, the rapes had occurred in the bedroom.
Prosecutor condemns "such cynical attitude"
On the fringes of the trial, the question had repeatedly arisen as to whether the topic should be viewed more from the point of view of cultural difference: the marriage had been arranged and accordingly conducted in a traditional manner. This was nothing unusual in these cultures, said a gynecologist who had treated the victim, referring to the fact that the 38-year-old obviously thought that his wife always had to serve him sexually, even if she was still in childbirth. Prosecutor Jakob strongly defended herself against such a "cynical attitude". Fortunately, there are places such as the police and the public prosecutor's office where such crimes are prosecuted as such.
A neighbor of the woman had reported that she only had the courage to report her husband in May 2022, when he was in Iran, and she learned that what he did to her is punishable in Germany. kö
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