Patrick Syuebing was reunited with his younger sister Susan Karolewski after over twenty years in foster care in what was then East Germany.

The siblings were initially separated when Patrick was assaulted by their father.

Just six months after reuniting with his biological family, the then 23-year-old began sharing a room with 16-year-old Susan, who has mental disabilities, following the death of their mother Ana Marie in December 2000.

Their illicit and illegal relationship resulted in the birth of four children, two of whom have disabilities.

The couple first challenged Germany’s incest laws in 2001 and later took their case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2012.

During this period, Patrick served two prison sentences for incest-related offences. He has previously stated that he feels no remorse for his relationship with his sister.

“We do not feel guilty about what has happened between us. We want the law which makes incest a crime to be abolished.”, reports the Mirror.

“I became head of the family and I had to protect my sister. She is very sensitive but we helped each other during this very difficult period and eventually that relationship became physical,” reported the Daily Mail in 2007.

Despite having been in a previous relationship with another woman, Patrick maintained: “We didn’t even know we were doing anything wrong when we started sleeping together.

“We didn’t think about using a condom. We didn’t know it was illegal to sleep together. Our mother would not have approved, but the only ones who should judge us now is us.”

Susan has also defended their relationship, emphasising that they did not grow up together after Patrick was taken from the family home at the age of three following a knife attack by their now-deceased father.

She said: “We didn’t know each other in childhood, it’s not the same for us. We fell in love as adults and our love is real. There is nothing we could do about it.

“We were both attracted to each other and then nature took over from us. It was that simple. What else could we do? We followed our instincts and our hearts.”

In an attempt to persuade the courts to allow them to live together without further prison sentences, Patrick underwent sterilisation surgery.

He said: “There is no reason for them to jail me now. I do not want to go back to jail and I know we will never voluntarily leave each other. If anyone doubts our love they should just see we will not be kept apart.”

Their lawyer has argued that there is a greater risk when disabled people or older women have children – and yet these circumstances are not prohibited.

Patrick also claimed that his rights to private and family life had been violated.

Germany’s prohibition on incest harks back to laws enacted during the Nazi era, and it remains illegal in countries including the UK, France, Denmark, Zimbabwe, and Malaysia. Conversely, in nations such as Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Nigeria, the act is punishable by death.