11 men on trial in Germany over gang rape of 18-year-old

BERLIN – Eleven men, most of them from Syria, have gone on trial in southwestern Germany over the gang rape of an 18-year-old woman last October.

The trial in the case, which added to tensions in Germany over migration, opened Wednesday at Freiburg state court and is scheduled to last until December. The news agency dpa reported the defendants are between 18 and 30. Eight come from Syria; the others include an Algerian, a Syrian and a German.

Prosecutors say the woman was offered an Ecstasy tablet in a disco and her drink was spiked with an unknown substance, leaving her unable to fend off the assailants. She reported that several men later raped her outside the disco.