Russia and Germany have been exchanging irked sentiments over the alleged rape case of a 13-year-old girl in Berlin.
Germany and Russia seem to be exchanging sour tones when it comes to a controversial rape case involving a teenage girl. On Wednesday, Berlin has issued a warning after Moscow allegedly "exploited" the girl's case and apparently promoted a cover-up.
Frank-Walter Steinmeir, German Foreign Minister, has accused Russia of trying to out more fuel to the already burning debate on refugees with regards to the claim of a 13-year-old German-Russian girl. Last week, German police refused to accept the teenager's claim that she was sexually assaulted by foreign men in Berlin.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a comment saying that the girl's allegations, as well as her disappearance for 30 hours, had been intentionally hidden by the German authorities.
"I hope that these problems are not swept under the carpet," said Lavrov in a report by BBC.
The back-and-forth commenting on such a sensitive allegation can't be taken lightly by any government. Which is why Steffen Seibert, German government spokesman, hit back on Wednesday.
"There is no reason, in fact, it is unacceptable, for this incident to be politically exploited," said Seibert, as reported by Yahoo News.
The victim, who the Russian media has dubbed "Liza", disappeared on January 11 on her way to school. Upon her re-appearance, Liza filed a police report with her parents. The parents told authorities that she was "kidnapped" by three foreign men right in a railway station in East Berlin. The three men allegedly took her to a flat where they raped and beat her.
The sensitive case has caused major outrage, with the Russian media stating that Germany is trying to intentionally bury Liza and her parents' accusations.
As a defense, prosecutors in Berlin said that there are no absolute evidence that Liza was forced to undergo sexual acts during her disappearance. An investigation was opened against one man that draw in a possible statutory rape charge.
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