German prosecutors push for prison time for Colonia Dignidad member

German prosecutors push for prison time for Colonia Dignidad member

German prosecutors have asked a court to enforce a verdict from Chile and send fugitive Hartmut Hopp to jail. Hopp was among the top members of the Colonia Dignidad cult, and allegedly aided the sexual abuse of children.

In the 1980s, Hopp often acted as a spokesman for the cult

German officials urged the court to uphold Hopp's five-year sentence, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in the western town of Krefeld said on Tuesday.

The 72-year-old doctor fled Chile in 2011, after a court in the South American country found him guilty of 16 counts of aiding child abuse. As a German citizen, Hopp is protected from extradition while in Germany.

During his time in Chile, Hopp was a member of a closed community called Colonia Dignidad, which consisted mostly of German expatriates. He also acted as a deputy and right-hand man to the enclave's founder, Paul Schäfer - a former Nazi and convicted pedophile.

The Chilean authorities have discovered that the community functioned as a cult, where children were abused for decades and residents forbidden to leave the colony. The cult leadership also cooperated with the Pinochet regime, which used Colonia Dignidad's premises as a torture camp and warehouse for weapons and poison gas....

http://www.dw.com/en/german-prosecutors-push-for-prison-time-for-colonia-dignidad-member/a-19312827