to detain
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to detain
To arrest a person and take them into custody; to put someone in prison. This is a formal term from legal and police language.
Die Polizei konnte den Verdächtigen noch am Tatort inhaftieren.
The police were able to detain the suspect at the scene of the crime.
The verb 'inhaftieren' (to detain) is made up of the preposition 'in' (in), the noun 'die Haft' (custody/imprisonment), and the ending '-ieren'. So it literally means 'in Haft nehmen' (to take into custody).
Der Mann wurde wegen des Verdachts auf Diebstahl inhaftiert.
The man was detained on suspicion of theft.
'Inhaftieren' (to detain) is a very formal term used mainly in the language of the police, the justice system, and news reports. In everyday language, people would more likely say 'festnehmen' (to arrest) or 'verhaften' (to arrest).
Laut Polizeibericht wurde der Verdächtige um 15 Uhr inhaftiert.
According to the police report, the suspect was detained at 3 p.m.
This verb is very often used in the passive to report what happened to a person. The person or group carrying out the action, such as the police, is then often left out or added with 'von' (by).
Die Demonstranten wurden von der Polizei vorübergehend inhaftiert.
The demonstrators were temporarily detained by the police.
to sentence / condemn
'verurteilen' and 'inhaftieren' both belong to legal and police language, but they do not describe the same thing. 'Inhaftieren' means that a person is arrested and taken into custody. This can happen even before a verdict. 'Verurteilen' means that a court determines a punishment at the end of a trial or legal proceeding. The risk of confusion arises because a person who has been sentenced sometimes goes to prison. But detention is the measure taken, while sentencing is the court decision.
Die Polizei inhaftierte den Verdächtigen noch am selben Abend.
The police detained the suspect that same evening.
Das Gericht verurteilte die Frau wegen Betrugs.
The court sentenced the woman for fraud.