Trials: Alleged martyrdom in hut: Court announces verdicts

After the alleged hours-long martyrdom of a young man in a neglected garden shed, the trial against four accused men in Stuttgart is coming to an end. The regional court will decide on Tuesday (1:30 p.m.) whether the men, aged between 21 and 27, kidnapped, tormented and tortured their alleged victim until he was able to free himself from the shackles and escape in an unobserved moment.

The public prosecutor is demanding prison sentences of several years for the confessed quartet. From the prosecution's point of view, the crime on Epiphany last year was a punitive action for two men. The defendants suspected a then 20-year-old of having stolen drugs worth more than 50,000 euros from the oldest suspect. At a meeting, they are said to have beaten and kicked him and his acquaintance before tying him up in the hut in the Kaltental district and torturing him.

The defendants have largely admitted the charges. They say they were extremely drunk on the night of the crime. The defense is demanding a significantly lower sentence, partly because of diminished responsibility for the crime caused by intoxication.