GETTY Refugees were moved to the Maritim hotel in Halle

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The 34-year-old Iraqi national was sentenced to four years in prison in May 2016 after sexually assaulting his wife twice while they were housed in refugee accommodation. The 23-year-old victim told police she was forced into the Islamic marriage in Iraq, adding that her husband had beaten her on previous occasions before they arrives in Germany.

She told authorities that she had been humiliated, raped and physically assaulted during their stay at the Maritim hotel, a four-star property in Halle temporarily converted into refugee housing. The Federal court rejected the defendant’s appeal, and upheld his sentence. The man, who was already in police custody, could also face deportation to Iraq.

GETTY Refugees were relocated to the Maritim in Halle

Research has found an increasing number of female refugees are being subjected to sexual and violent assaults at German camps. The state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the Maritim hotel is located, has seen at least 20 shelters open their doors to provide refuge for battered women and children.

GETTY Migrants were rehoused after setting fire to their Dusseldorf camp