Three men in court for brutal kidnapping and extortion!

Three men in court for brutal kidnapping and extortion!

Three men are on trial in Berlin today, November 13, 2025. A trial begins at 9:15 a.m. at the Berlin regional court, which is already causing a lot of excitement. The main defendant is a 41-year-old who has to answer for, among other things, extortionate kidnapping, grievous bodily harm and abandonment. The allegations are serious and correspond to the horrifying details of the crime that took place on December 8, 2024.

The investigation has revealed that the crime began in a parking lot where the victim, a 37-year-old, was brutally overpowered. According to court testimony, a 57-year-old defendant provided an apartment while a 34-year-old was allowed to rent a vehicle for the scheme. The kidnapped man was placed in the trunk of the car and taken to Bad Freienwalde in the Märkisch-Oderland district. As if that wasn't enough, the perpetrators initially demanded two million euros from the kidnapped man's father before reducing the sum to 200,000 euros.

Kidnapping in sub-zero temperatures

The situation escalated when the perpetrators learned that the police were already involved in the case. In an act of madness, they abandoned their injured victim on a remote forest path in below-freezing temperatures. Such cold hearts not only made their actions shocking but also increased the drama of the proceedings. The court has scheduled a total of nine trial days until January 29, 2026, which shows how serious the situation is and how thoroughly the allegations must be examined.

The media reports that this is not just a routine case on the list. The details of this kidnapping are horrifying and highlight the dark side of human behavior. The public will no doubt be watching developments in this case with anticipation, with the defendants' lawyers already in the starting blocks.

While the people of Cologne and Berlin watch these moving days spellbound, the question remains as to what lessons can be learned from this case. The court is now required to send a clear signal - not only to those affected, but also to society, that such acts do not remain without consequences.

For more information about the trial and the background to the crime, take a look at the reporting from Daily Mirror.