No violations

In a six-to-one decision, the court said Gaefgen, 33, could not argue that he was a victim of torture or inhumane treatment although he had been threatened with torture by police during an investigation into the murder of 11-year-old Jakob von Metzler in September 2002.

There is also no violation of the right to a fair trial, the court said on Monday, June 30, adding that the information obtained through the threat of torture was not used during the proceedings.

Gaefgen was arrested by police after a ransom had been paid in the wake of the kidnapping of Jacob von Metzler, the son of a prominent banker. Investigators thought von Metzler was still alive and a high-ranking Frankfurt police official told one of his subordinates to threaten to inflict pain on Gaefgen if he did not reveal where he was holding the boy.

In reality, Gaefgen had already killed von Metzler.

Gaefgen has been sentence to life imprisonment. He had appealed his case all the way to the German high court, but without success.