A GERMAN man who was convicted eight years ago of murdering an 11-year-old boy has been awarded €3,000 plus interest in damages over threats made by a policeman during his interrogation.

A Frankfurt court ruled today that Magnus Gäfgen, 36, deserved compensation for threats of violence made by an officer while questioning him about the boy’s disappearance in 2002.

Gäfgen had sought €10,000 in compensation, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

However, the court rejected Gäfgen’s claims that he suffered mental trauma as a result. Instead, the judge said in his ruling that any trauma Gäfgen is suffering is much more likely “to be attributed to the experience of killing the victim”.

Gäfgen is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping banker’s son Jakob von Metzler with the intention of getting a €1 million ransom and of killing him.

Bild reports that the child had been killed before the ransom was paid and that Gäfgen was arrested after the money was transferred, but before the child’s body was found. After he was interrogated by police, he led them to the boy’s body.

The officer who made the threats has been sentenced to a year’s probation.

- Additional reporting by the AP