German boy suspected of sexual abuse to remain in custody in Turkey

A German teenager held for 5 months charged with sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl will remain in custody until his next court hearing.

The 17-year-old German - who was identified only by his initials because he is a minor- is accused of sexually abusing a British girl while both were on vacation in a resort town in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

The case was adjourned until Sept. 28, private news agency Dogan reported, but gave no other detail.

The teenager has been held in Antalya since April 11, and Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier raised the case with his Turkish counterpart in June.

"We are in a state of great concern about the boy," Matthias Waldraff, a lawyer for the teenager, said on Germany's n-tv television.

A gagging order introduced by the court shortly after the case was publicized has restricted media coverage of the case. Journalists were not allowed into the courtroom because the defendant is a minor.

In July, state-run media said the teen could be extradited to his home country to serve time in prison if found guilty.