FORBACH: A German man, arrested in France after his wife said he had been holding her captive for 12 years, was released on Tuesday without charges, the lead prosecutor in the case said.

Police arrested the 55-year-old on Monday after his wife was found naked in a poor state following what she said was captivity at the couple’s home since 2011.

But her husband denied this, saying that his wife had cancer and that he was caring for her.

Prosecutor Olivier Glady said there was “no evidence” that would justify a continued investigation into the man.

“The kidnap scenario never happened,” he said.

A few hours later, the man left the police station. According to eyewitnesses, he was taken home in an unmarked police vehicle, seated in the back, with the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.

Forensic medicine examination of the man’s wife, a 53-year-old Spanish-German national, had also failed to produce any signs of rape or injuries, the prosecutor said.

Doubts about the wife’s narrative had emerged already on Monday, when doctors found no broken bones or bruises as they examined her.

Her accounts to investigators meanwhile contained “inconsistencies”, police said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2023