In the alleged criminal case of Lisa F., a 13 year old russian-german girl was reported missing in Berlin in January 2016. After returning, she first claimed that that she had been kidnapped and raped by three strangers, something the german police showed was a false statement. German police however conducted criminal investigations of two men, one a Turkish citizen and one a German citizen of Turkish origin, who were suspected of having had sexual contact with the 13-year-old girl in October 2015. Such contact would be a criminal offence under German law even if happened voluntarily. The incident led to intensive media reporting, especially in Russian media, and to diplomatic tensions between Germany and Russia. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, accused German authorities of hushing up the case. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier rejected the allegations and warned Russia of "politicising" the case. After the Russian media extensively covered the story and claimed that the girl had been mistreated and held as a "sex slave", many Russian Germans held demonstrations in several parts of Germany, amongst others in front of the Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin on 24 January.
Contents
Incidents
On 11 January Lisa F. (name shortened in accordance with German privacy law), a 13-year-old Russian-German girl with dual citizenship from Berlin-Marzahn, disappeared on her way to school. Her parents reported her missing to the police. The following day she returned after 30 hours and told her parents that she had been abducted by three unknown men of "southern" or "Arab" origin, who did not speak German well. Furthermore, she initially told the police that she had been beaten and raped. Her phone record however indicated that she had stayed at her older friend. During further questioning the girl told another version of the events, in which she went along with the men voluntarily. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said: "We proceed from consensual sexual contact." Berlin police also denied that there had been an abduction or rape, but nonetheless conducted further criminal investigations against the two suspects. Relatives of Lisa stuck to the allegations which the girl had raised at first.
On 29 January a prosecutor's spokesman told the press that on the night in question the girl had been at the home of a 19-year-old male acquaintance, who is not suspected to have had sexual contact with her, but is considered a witness. The police found that man by evaluating data from a cell phone, as the girl herself had told several versions of the story. Apparently the girl wanted to get away and sought shelter at his home. She had had problems in school and did not want to go to her parents. Nevertheless, criminal investigation regarding severe child abuse continued against the two men, who are suspected to have had sexual contact with her in the months before her disappearance. The age of consent in Germany is 14.
On 29 January Steinmeier and Lavrov agreed during a phone call not to broach the case any further. On 31 January a speaker for the prosecutor's office told the press that the girl had "immediately admitted that the story of the rape was not true" when questioned by specialists three days after her disappearance. However, on 1 February her mother, Svetlana F., repeated the allegations initially made by the girl, adding that Lisa had hematomas under her eyes and blood in her mouth when she came home. The girl was treated in a hospital's psychiatric ward.
Reactions
Demonstrations
After the Russian media extensively covered the story and reported that the girl had been mistreated and held as a "sex slave", many Russian Germans reacted with anger; beginning on 18 January there were demonstrations in several parts of Germany, amongst others in front of the Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin on 23 January.