German prosecutors widen probe in Hamburg child suicide network case
The prosecutor's office said investigations are ongoing into potential additional victims of Shahriar J, who used the online alias "White Tiger" and was arrested in mid-June at his parents' home in Hamburg's affluent Marienthal district.
Hamburg Public Prosecutor General Jörg Fröhlich confirmed the suspect, a former medical student, faces 123 charges covering offences allegedly committed between 2021 and 2023, including murder, attempted murder, sexual abuse of children and rape.
The arrest followed a tip from the FBI initially regarding child pornography, but police discovered 85,000 files, more than 600 videos, and extensive chat records referencing child torture. The accused is held under strict security at a youth prison on the Hahnöfersand peninsula.
Police suspect the defendant may have led the international torture network "764," which is classified as a terrorist organisation in the US. The network allegedly forced children and young people to self-harm and mutilate themselves for sexual purposes, with victims from Germany, the UK, the US and Canada.
Prosecutors allege the defendant drove a 13-year-old US citizen to suicide in January 2022 using a Finnish minor as an intermediary. The suspect allegedly manipulated the Finnish girl through "a perverse mix of expressions of love and contempt" after making contact in 2021, forcing her to self-harm and contact boys in the US in 2022.
The Finnish minor allegedly met the 13-year-old victim on an online suicide forum in mid-January 2022. Prosecutors claim the defendant joined an Instagram group chat and drove the boy to suicide, sharing the recorded act on an online network for sadistic content.
"The offences are beyond human imagination," Fröhlich said.
The case presents complex legal challenges since suicide and assisted suicide are not punishable under German law. Prosecutors must prove the defendant committed "murder in indirect perpetration," meaning he committed a crime through another person while being the main perpetrator.
Legal experts note the prosecution must demonstrate the victim lacked free will for the case to qualify as murder rather than suicide assistance.
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