A 2002 threat of torture by German police trying to get a kidnapper to reveal the whereabouts of his victim resulted Thursday in the man winning damages of 3,000 euros (4,265 dollars), according to dpa. A Frankfurt court ruled that the unfulfilled threat against Magnus Gaefgen - now serving a life sentence for the murder of the kidnpapped child - warranted the payout. But the court came down from Gaefgen's request for 10,000 euros. It also rejected a claim for compensation and a defence charge that the court was prejudiced against Gaefgen. Gaefgen was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Jakob von Metzler, 11, the son of a wealthy banker. Gaefgen had abducted the boy on September 27, 2002, on the child's way home from school, and killed him shortly thereafter. He was arrested three days later after police observed him collecting a ransom payment given out by the family. But it wasn't until October 1, and only after the threat of torture, that Gaefgen admitted that the boy was long dead. Police had defended the threat of torture, saying they were working under the assumption the boy was alive and that the clock was ticking if they were to find him alive. Gaefgen has argued that he has suffered psychological problems since the threats were made. However, an analyst has said it is impossible to determine if Gaefgen's problems stem from the trauma of the threats, or from the kidnapping and murder. Wolfgang Daschner, the police commissioner who approved the torture threat, was in 2004 given a warning.
