A Greek lawyer has identified the suspected murderer of Maria L. as having been in Greece in 2013 and confirmed that the man had claimed to have been between 16 and 17 at the time.

Greek lawyer Maria-Eleni Nikolopoulou has confirmed the allegations made by two asylum seekers who told German press that the murderer of Maria Ladenburger had been convicted of attempted murder in Greece in 2014, reports Donau Kurier.

In 2013, Afghan migrant Hussein K. attempted to rob a woman and then threw her from a cliff on the coast of the island of Corfu. During the trial, which took place in 2014, Hussein K. said that he was 17; two years later, after being arrested for the murder of Maria Ladenburger, he is claiming again that he is still 17 years old.

Ms. Nikolopoulou represented the Afghan migrant and described him as “neutral” and “unemotional” during the trial. She claimed that he also refused to write a letter of apology to his victim to ask for forgiveness.

Hussein K. was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder. Many question why he was able to travel to Germany in December 2015 claiming to have come from Afghanistan and that he was seeking asylum eventually turning up in Freiburg – the town where he is accused of raping and murdering Ms. Ladenburger.

One answer, according to German press, could be a law which was passed by the Greek government in April 2015, the so-called law number 4322. The legislation was aimed at tackling prison overcrowding in Greece, an issue which was draining the already-strained budget of the country which has seen multiple bailouts over the past decade.

The law allows the Greek government to release underage offenders prematurely on the condition that they have behaved well while imprisoned, have a sentence of 10 years or less, and that half of the sentence had already been served. After being released by the Greek government Hussein K. was scheduled to report his whereabouts and activities to the police, which he failed to do.

General secretary in the Greek Ministry of Justice,  Eftihis Fytrakis, said that due to the fact Hussein K. had been in custody since 2013 he was eligible for the programme and “he was entitled to release”.

Adult migrants posing as adults has been a common problem in Germany, Austria, and in Sweden, the countries who have taken the largest share of migrants from the migrant crisis. Many migrants lie about their age to receive  special treatment, which can include immunity from deportation and lesser sentences for crimes committed.

The rape and murder of Maria Ladenburger has charged the debate on the German migrant policy and the competency of German authorities to properly identify who has come into the country. The reputation of German intelligence and police has also suffered after multiple arrests of Islamic State fighters posing as asylum seekers and even the infiltration of the domestic spy agency by an Islamist who plotted to conduct terror attacks.