He had also attacked his wife with a cooking pot after she stood up to him

A Syrian migrant threw his three young children out of a window in a rage after his wife insisted on being treated like a European woman, a trial has heard.

The children survived the shocking incident at a house in Lohmar, near Cologne, earlier this year.

The trial in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia heard the woman had made it clear she was not prepared to accept the traditional role of a subservient Arab wife and this had infuriated her husband.

Police and ambulance crews outside the home in Lohmar after the incident in February

The prosecutor said the 36-year-old man, identified only as Hassan Z, threw his three children out of the first-floor window of the house, a former Chinese restaurant which had been converted into refugee accommodation.

His seven-year-old daughter and his son, who was five, suffered fractured skulls and other broken bones.

His youngest daughter, who was only one, survived with only bruises.

Hassan Z, pictured, knelt on the floor with his shirt over his head at one point as a protest on the first day of his trial

The man has admitted throwing them but denies attempted murder.

The couple clashed frequently because she insisted on being treated equally and on February 1 this year he allegedly hit her in the face with a cooking pot.

It was not the first time he had attacked her, the court heard.

The man left Syria in 2014 and travelled to France, via the Balkans route, before moving to Germany. His family travelled later to join him in Lohmar.

On the first day of his trial Hassan Z knelt on the floor with his t-shirt pulled over his head as a protest at his plight.

The trial continues.