Defense lawyers reject accusations against alleged pimps

His client was guilty of two counts of promoting prostitution, the defense lawyer said on Tuesday. A prison sentence of 32 to 33 months is to be handed down for this. The 29-year-old had profited from the women's prostitution and supervised them.

The defense lawyer accused the three plaintiffs of spreading many lies and of not being credible. His client could not be accused of human trafficking. Other accusations such as fraud or theft were also not proven. In one case, the accused is said to have taken a total of over 100,000 francs from a client.

The accused's defense lawyer said that there was no evidence that he had been involved in the crimes. He was only being held in custody because he was the partner. "The plaintiffs did not accuse him either," said the defense lawyer. He is to be compensated for the time he spent in custody.

The public prosecutor's office accuses the couple of bringing three women to Switzerland under duress. They are said to have worked as prostitutes in Zurich, where they had hardly any freedom and only received a fraction of the money. They were also pressured into sexual practices that they did not want.

Accused did not want to hurt anyone

In her closing statement, the accused said that she regretted everything she had done. "In the 33 months in prison, I have learned from my mistakes". She did not want to hurt anyone and hoped for a verdict based on the facts.

Her partner said he had never had anything to do with prostitution. "My health broke down in custody". In June, the trial was interrupted for the first time because he had to be taken to hospital.

The court plans to open the verdict on September 16.