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BERLIN, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old German girl has admitted she lied about being gang raped by migrants, an allegation that ignited a diplomatic war of words between Germany and Russia and further stirred anti-immigrant feelings in Europe. The teen, who was identified only as Lisa under German privacy laws, said she made up the allegation she was abducted and raped by three men of Arabic and Turkish descent to cover the 30 hours she spent with a 19-year-old man and his mother.
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The girl is part of a small Russian community in Berlin and said she was dragged into a car at a train station and gang raped several weeks ago.
In the wake of the hundreds of Cologne, Germany, sex attacks by North African or Middle Eastern men on New Year's Eve, the claim was all the more explosive and drew protests in Berlin's Russian community and claims of a cover-up by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Right-wing groups also demonstrated.
"The news of her disappearance was kept secret," Lavrov said at a press conference. "They are painting over reality with political correctness."
The girl quickly withdrew her allegations when a medical examination proved she had not been raped, Berlin prosecutor's office spokesman Martin Steltner said. Police also found phone records that showed the girl was with her 19-year-old friend during her disappearance, but Steltner said no sexual activity occurred and the 19-year-old was not charged.
"My daughter is doing badly," the girl's mother told German magazine Spiegel. The teen is now undergoing psychiatric treatment.
