German prosecutor to probe Mallorca gang rape allegations
July 20, 2023
German authorities will be starting an investigation into allegations of a gang rape committed on the Spanish island of Mallorca by a group of male German tourists, a spokesperson from the public prosecutor's office in the western city of Hagen confirmed to DW on Thursday.
Five German men between the ages of 21 and 23 are facing accusations of raping an 18-year-old German woman last week or of failing to take action to stop the crime. The men have been taken into custody on the island.
The spokesperson, senior public prosecutor Gerhard Pauli, told the dpa news agency that German authorities were obliged to carry out their own investigation when German nationals are suspects in a crime committed abroad.
More information needed
Pauli said, however, that more information from Spanish authorities had been requested so that the German investigation could commence.
A witness who had sat next to the men for five hours while they were in police custody and overheard conversations among them has also contacted German police, Pauli said.
The five suspects reportedly all come from the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The victim told the police that the attack took place in a hotel room in the popular tourist spot of Playa de Palma. Six suspects were arrested shortly afterward, with one being released without charge.
Edited by: Sean Sinico