HAMBURG, Jan 9 - The trial of a 21-year-old man accused of forcing children and teenagers to self-harm and commit sexual acts online, leading to a 13-year-old boy taking his own life in the United States, began behind closed doors in Hamburg on Friday.

The trial - which is being held in private due to the age and vulnerability of the victims - marks a precedent in Germany as the first time someone has gone on trial for murder in a suicide that occurred in a different jurisdiction.