A 30 year old man has found himself involved in two trials in only two weeks. In one case, he was the victim of attempted manslaughter - now he is on trial for false imprisonment.
The main defendant in a current case for false imprisonment, in which 5 other people have been charged, was a plaintiff in a case involving attempted manslaughter last week. The manslaughter charges dates back to an incident which occurred in Esch-sur-Alzette in August 2014.
None of the six defendants implicated in the false imprisonment case, aged between 27 and 30 years, appeared in court on Monday. They have collectively been charged with six counts of false imprisonment, which took place between 2012 and 2016. They targeted their victim, a now 28 year old man, over a period of four years.
The first of four major incidents is alleged to have occurred in the summer 0f 2012. Three defendants stand accused of wrongful imprisonment.
They allegedly tied their victim down and threatened him with a machete and a hot iron, which they held close to the victim's naked back. The defendants' attempted to extort their victim to pay out €20,000. In the end, the accused criminals made off with €3,000 and about 500 grams of marijuana.
Second assault
The second incident occurred in late 2014. Four of the defendants are alleged to have held a man against his will, along with another victim, a 25 year old woman.
Here, the alleged perpetrators held a weapon to the male victim's head and told him they would take him to into the woods to kill him.
They then set about the man, beating him with the weapon and he suffered severe head injuries during the attack. After the second incident, the defendants allegedly made off with 2 kg of marijuana and €8,000.
Third time unlucky
The third incident occurred in early 2015, when four defendants allegedly wrongfully imprisoned the man again, this time along with another 24 year old man.
On this occasion, the perpetrators held a knife to the victim's throat and stole a PlayStation, two necklaces worth about €6,750 and between 200 and 700 grams of marijuana.
Four score
The fourth incident occurred a mere two days later.
Three defendants stand accused of having attacked the then 24 year old while he was out for a walk with his dog. He was hit, stabbed and pulled into a car, where he says he was strangled with a belt.
Again, the man handed over cash in an attempt to save himself from further injury and extrapolate himself from the dangerous situation.
A verdict is expected for Wednesday, 3 October.
