Patrick Syuebing and Susan Karolewski said they ‘followed their hearts’ and feel ‘no guilt’ over their illegal relationship that saw the brother jailed twice for the offence
Patrick Syuebing was reunited with his younger sister Susan Karolewski after more than two decades of being in foster care in what was then East Germany.
The siblings were forced to split up initially when he was attacked by their father. Then, just six months after reconnecting with his biological family, the then-23-year-old began sharing a bedroom with Susan, 16, who has mental disabilities, after the death of their mother Ana Marie in December 2000.
Their incestuous, and illegal, relationship eventually led to the birth of four children, two of whom have disabilities. The pair first launched a legal challenge against Germany’s incest laws in 2001 and later took their case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2012.
It was during this time that Patrick served two prison sentences for incest-related offences. He previously stated that he felt no guilt over his relationship with his sister.
“We do not feel guilty about what has happened between us. We want the law which makes incest a crime to be abolished.
“I became head of the family and I had to protect my sister. She is very sensitive but we helped each other during this very difficult period and eventually that relationship became physical,” the Daily Mail reported back in 2007.
Despite having had a previous relationship with another woman, Patrick insisted: “We didn’t even know we were doing anything wrong when we started sleeping together.
“We didn’t think about using a condom. We didn’t know it was illegal to sleep together. Our mother would not have approved, but the only ones who should judge us now is us.”
Susan has also defended their relationship, stressing the pair did not grow up together after Patrick was removed from the family home aged three following a knife attack by their now-deceased father.
She said: “We didn’t know each other in childhood, it’s not the same for us. We fell in love as adults and our love is real. There is nothing we could do about it.
“We were both attracted to each other and then nature took over from us. It was that simple. What else could we do? We followed our instincts and our hearts.”
Patrick underwent sterilisation surgery in a bid to convince the courts to allow the couple to live together without further prison sentences.
He said: “There is no reason for them to jail me now. I do not want to go back to jail and I know we will never voluntarily leave each other. If anyone doubts our love they should just see we will not be kept apart.”
Their lawyer has argued there is a greater risk when disabled people or older women have children – and that these circumstances are not banned. Patrick also claimed his rights to private and family life had been violated.
Germany’s ban on incest dates back to legislation introduced during the Nazi era and is currently also illegal in countries such as here in the UK, France, Denmark, Zimbabwe and Malaysia. In contrast, the act is punishable by death in places like Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Nigeria.
