Marco Weiss

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Marco Weiss (born February 28, 1990 in Uelzen ) is a German author who became famous for his book My 247 Days in Turkish Prison . Weiss was in the summer of 2007 in Germany as Marco W. known because he in Turkey on charges of sexual abuse of a child in custody was arrested and convicted after it while vacationing between him and a 13-year-old British girl for sexual favors came. The imprisonment drew considerable attention in the German and Turkish press and led to political entanglements.

Life

Weiss has an older brother. Both grew up as children of a lawyer and a probation officer . Weiss attended the secondary school in Uelzen and switched to the secondary school in Uelzen at the beginning of the 10th grade. He was awarded his diploma there in the summer of 2007 while he was in custody. His average grade, which he had already achieved by the Easter holidays, was sufficient in this special case. From summer 2008 he attended a technical college and then completed an apprenticeship as a motor vehicle mechatronics technician. In 2016 he worked for the ambulance service.

Allegations of abuse

Weiss was arrested on April 11, 2007 while on vacation in Turkey and spent eight months in custody in Antalya . The 17-year-old was accused by the Turkish public prosecutor of having sexually assaulted a then 13-year-old girl from Great Britain in a hotel room. The trigger was the report by the gynecologist Levent Hekim to the Turkish authorities, which was necessary because of the age of Charlotte, and the subsequent criminal complaint from the girl's mother. Weiss admitted contacts to the girl, but denied rape. He stated that the initiative came from the girl who also stated her age as 15 years.

Pretrial detention in Turkey

Media reports about his pre-trial detention evoked expressions of solidarity, particularly in his hometown, but soon also nationwide. Some German politicians campaigned for him. The then German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier turned directly to his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül . The Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker criticized the detention situation because of the case and said that Turkey had to move closer to the European situation. He was supported by the Brandenburg Interior Minister Jörg Schönbohm , who stated that this shows that Turkey is not ready for EU accession. On the other hand, the chairman of the German Association of Judges declared that one should “leave the church in the village”: sexual abuse is not a minor offense, remand custody due to the risk of flight could also be considered in Germany for such a charge.

The behavior of the German media and politics met with criticism in Turkey. Steinmeier's call to Gül by the General Prosecutor of Antalya was viewed as tactless. The tone of German politicians reminiscent of colonialism was criticized in the Turkish media. The police must intervene in cases of possible abuse. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor's office in Lüneburg started investigations against Weiss because the offense he was accused of is also punishable under German law . At the same time, this created the conditions for the case to be transferred to Germany, which the Turkish authorities rejected. The criticism in the Marco Weiss case increasingly focused on pre-trial detention, which was viewed as disproportionately long, especially for a minor. So there also human rights issues were linked, to shut EU - Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn into the case.

At the end of November 2007, the Turkish court had the original minutes of the interrogation of the 13-year-old girl by the British police. The lack of this statement was one of the main reasons why the Antalya court had repeatedly adjourned. On December 14, 2007, Weiss was released unconditionally from pretrial detention and was allowed to travel to Germany.

Further process in Turkey

Following the revocation of the testimony of the main witness, Marco Weiss was released from his obligation to be present in court in the further course of the process. On June 5, 2009, the public prosecutor's office held a plea in which they considered the evidence for the allegations of rape and sexual abuse to be established. The proceedings were delayed by the Turkish public prosecutor's office for a few months. On September 16, 2009, the defense pleaded for an acquittal. The court sentenced Marco Weiss to imprisonment of two years, two months and 20 days for the sexual abuse of children according to Art. 103 Para. 1 tStGB (reduced according to Art. 31 Para. 3 tStGB) Parole has been suspended. As announced in advance in the event of a conviction, the defense has appealed to the Court of Cassation . The attorney for the secondary prosecution, Ömer Aycan, had announced that he would also recommend the appeal to his client. However, it is not yet known whether this has followed the advice.

Around the turn of the year 2013/2014, the highest court of appeal in Turkey confirmed the judgment with the suspended sentence.

Further investigation in Germany

In Germany, however, the public prosecutor closed the investigation against Weiss at the beginning of May 2009. The Lüneburg authority had received comprehensive negotiation minutes and reports from the Turkish judiciary. According to the agency, there is no evidence that the teenager sexually abused the then 13-year-old British girl to bring charges. The girl's statement alone is not sufficient to establish a sufficient suspicion. There is no further incriminating evidence. This position was confirmed again after the Turkish judgment. “The verdict is not an occasion for us to start new investigations. This would also have been the case if Marco had been convicted of rape instead of sexual abuse in Turkey. We have examined this comprehensively from both points of view, ”said the spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office in Lüneburg.

Book publication

In November 2008 Weiss published a report on his pre-trial detention in Turkey under the title My 247 Days in Turkish Prison . The first edition of his work was almost sold out just a week after publication. According to his own statements, the book mainly serves to overcome the trauma caused by his imprisonment and to thank the people who supported him during the time. The book found its way into German bestseller lists. In this book, Weiss blames the 13-year-old English woman, her mother and the Turkish judiciary for his arrest and the long pre-trial detention. In contrast to his two Turkish lawyers, who have the sole right of representation before the Turkish court, Weiss' German lawyers resigned their mandate for the further abuse process shortly after the book was announced. Weiss was then again represented in Germany by the lawyer Jürgen Schmidt, who had already taken on this mandate at the beginning. With the publication of the book, the lawyer for the English family announced that he wanted to review the book for statements relevant to the process, but ultimately decided not to bring the book into the process.

TV movie

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marco Trial: Confusion about the gynecologist's testimony. In: Spiegel Online . August 8, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Marco W .: My 247 days in Turkish prison , pp. 104-105.
  3. ^ Abuse process in Turkey: Marco W. can hope for acquittal. In: Stern . November 25, 2008, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  4. ↑ The Farce of Antalya. (No longer available online.) In: Allgemeine Zeitung der Lüneburger Heide. July 16, 2009, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 22, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.az-online.de  
  5. ↑ The Farce of Antalya. In: Bunte. June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Interview: Marco W. wanted sex with an English woman. In: Focus Online . June 26, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Chronicle at NDR ( Memento from May 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Over 100 people at a vigil for Marco W. In: Der Tagesspiegel . November 17, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  9. ↑ a b Marco Weiss case: "The girl is the victim - not the boy". In: Spiegel Online. June 28, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Imprisoned Marco Weiss: Turkey holds out the prospect of deportation to Germany. In: Spiegel Online. June 27, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  11. ^ Case of Marco Weiss: "Sexual abuse is not a minor offense". Interview with the chairman of the judges' association, Christoph Frank. In: Spiegel Online. July 2, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Gunter Seufert: Turkey: The Midnight Express Syndrome. In: Zeit Online . June 22, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Chronicle at NDR ( Memento from May 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ^ Case of Marco W .: Özdemir warns of a campaign against Turkey. In: The world . November 23, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  15. ^ Case of Marco W .: EU commissioner intervenes. In: Spiegel Online. November 24, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Marco W .: Charlotte's statement is available. In: Stern. November 28, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Marco released from custody: "My son is free, my son is free!" In: Spiegel Online. December 14, 2007, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  18. ^ Case of Marco W .: 13-year-old British woman revokes her statement. In: The world . June 3, 2007, accessed December 3, 2017 .
  19. ↑ Antalya: Prosecution considers Marco W. guilty. In: FAZ.NET. June 5, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2016 .
  20. ↑ AZ: "That is already borderline"  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.az-online.de  
  21. ^ Trial in Turkey: appeal against Marco's judgment submitted. In: The world. September 24, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Suspended sentence: Parents appalled by the verdict against Marco Weiss. In: Spiegel Online. September 16, 2009, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  23. ↑ "Marco's parents are massively disappointed with the verdict" Welt online of September 16, 2009
  24. ↑ Marco Weiss receives suspended sentence. In: n-tv.de. January 6, 2014, accessed October 29, 2014 .
  25. ^ A suspended sentence for Marco Weiss from Uelzen. In: az-online. January 8, 2014, accessed October 29, 2014 .
  26. ↑ Thomas Mitzlaff: Abuse Trial: Public Prosecutor closes proceedings against Marco Weiss. In: Hannoversche Allgemeine . May 4, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2016 .
  27. ↑ Marco case: preliminary investigation closed. (No longer available online.) Press release from the Lüneburg public prosecutor's office of May 4, 2009, May 15, 2009, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 12, 2016 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.staatsanwaltschaften.niedersachsen.de  
  28. ↑ Michael Martens and Reinhard Müller: New process. The Marco W. case goes to the next instance. In: FAZ.NET . September 17, 2009, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  29. ↑ Marco W. - 247 days in the Turkish prison: background to the film. Sat.1.de, accessed on March 5, 2011 .
  30. ↑ Resignation of the mandate: Marco Weiss publishes book overnight with Englishwoman. In: Spiegel Online. November 27, 2008, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  31. ↑ AFP of November 28, 2008  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.123recht.net  
  32. ↑ Unveiling book: Marco Weiss' second lawyer resigns. In: Spiegel Online. November 28, 2008, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  33. ↑ Karsten Kammholz: "I hope that Marco's nightmare will finally end". Interview with the lawyer Schmidt. In: The world. December 28, 2008, accessed July 12, 2016 .
  34. ↑ Accused of abuse: Judgment in the Marco W. case is expected in April. In: The world. March 3, 2009, accessed July 12, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Weiss, Marco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES W., Marco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German student accused of a crime
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1990
PLACE OF BIRTH Uelzen