It is with dismay that the Uelzen congregation of St. Peter's in the Rhineland. Petri, the news has been received that the trial against Marco W. in Turkey was postponed on Friday. According to media reports, the 17-year-old from Uelzen remains in custody in Antalya. The trial is not expected to begin until 8.
August to be continued.
"Interference in legal matters is far from our minds" "We are all very disappointed," church board chairman Hubertus Forstel said Friday.Earlier, in Uelzen, Lower Saxony, about one hundred people prayed in an intercessory service for the young man imprisoned in Turkey and his family. "Many people in our congregation and in our city know Marco well," said Pastor Susanne Holsing in the St.-Petri Church, where the teenager was confirmed, on Thursday evening. "Interference in legal or political ies is far from all of us," the pastor said during the service. It is a matter of intercession, he said. Marco knows about it and is thankful for the sympathy.The head of the Uelzen Protestant Family Education Center, Thomas Garbers, prayed for Marco's family and for "good thoughts" from decision-makers in Turkey, so that justice would be done for all involved. According to Marco's parents, they have been involved in the educational institution and the church congregation for years.In the sanctuary of the church, visitors lit candles and said personal prayers for the teenager, who has been in prison for twelve weeks. Due to the great media interest, the church council of St.-St. Peter's congregation prohibited from recording images and sound in the church before and during services. The devotion should offer a protected framework, it was said. The collection in the service goes to Marco's family, which has to bear high travel and legal costs. Marco W. Remains in U-Ha until August after trial adjournment The trial of 17-year-old Marco W. from Uelzen in the Turkish Antalya was adjourned on Friday. The next trial date has been set for August 8, according to media reports. August, it was said. Until then, given the complexity of the case, medical records would have to continue to be collected. Marco W. must therefore remain in pre-trial detention. The court has refused to release him, even on bail, because of the risk of flight.The student must stand trial on charges of sexually abusing a 13-year-old British girl. Marco W. was on 12. He was arrested in the Turkish resort of Side on April 1 after the girl's parents filed a complaint against him. Since then he has been in custody.The Uelzen lawyer of Marco's family, Juergen Schmidt, will not comment on the latest developments in the case until this afternoon, it was said from his office. Criticism from Berlin in the run-up Marco W. Admits to flirting and smooching with the girl he met at a disco in the tourist resort of Side. However, she had pretended to be a 15-year-old to him. The English woman, on the other hand, claims he sexually harassed her while she slept. But he had not raped her.Marco W. shares a cell with 30 other prisoners in the Antalya remand prison. The conditions of imprisonment had been heavily criticized from the German side in the run-up to the trial. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) had intervened in the case. Last week, the Turkish judiciary had imposed a news blackout in the case.