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April 13, 2012

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Incest man's rights were not violated

GERMAN courts did not violate a Leipzig man's privacy rights by convicting him for incest with his younger sister - with whom he fathered four children, the European Court of Human Rights said yesterday.

The court, part of the 47-nation Council of Europe based in eastern Strasbourg, France, said German courts didn't violate the rights of Patrick Stuebing, who was sentenced to 14 months in prison in 2005. He is now free.

The case had prompted calls for Germany to follow countries like France, Turkey, Japan and Brazil in amending its laws so that consensual sexual relations between adult relatives are no longer illegal.

Germany, as with most council member states, bars consensual sexual acts between adult siblings, the ECHR said. It also said there was not enough evidence to suggest a possible trend of decriminalization.

Stuebing claimed his rights to a private life were violated. The ECHR said German courts did not convict his sister as she has a personality disorder.

The main basis for punishment for the incest, the ECHR said, was "the protection of marriage and the family." It also noted "the risk of significant damage" to children born of such a relationship.


 

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