Italy: The judges acquitted two rape defendants because the victim was "ugly and masculine" as a "Viking"

Too masculine and ugly to be raped. With these unusual arguments, an Italian court acquitted on appeal two young men sentenced for first-degree rape of a young woman, a case that provoked outrage among women in the country and on social networks and forced the authorities to examine it. the superiors

The decision of the Court of Appeal of Ancona has quashed the sentence of 5 and 3 years in prison previously pronounced for the two accused of drugging and raping a 22-year-old girl. The facts date back to 2015 and the victim and the two accused are Peruvian nationals.

The trial court convicted both defendants, one of whom was an accomplice. But in 2017 the Ancona appeals court, composed of three judges, acquitted them by endorsing the arguments of the alleged perpetrators of abuse, a failure that has been recently experienced in recent days.

The victim stated that he put something in his drink and was then badually badaulted by one of the subjects, while the other ensured that no one stopped the crime. For their part, the doctors found that their injuries were compatible with the rape and found traces of drugs used in their blood to control it.

However, the magistrates examined the testimony of the accused: the girl had a very masculine appearance, was ugly and the attackers did not like her at all, to the point that the alleged perpetrator of the violation had registered on his phone with the name of "viking"

But not only did they support the views of the attackers. They also included their opinion on the appearance of the victim. "The photo presented in the documents seems to confirm this statement."said the court.

In addition, they indicated that it was not possible to rule out the possibility that the young woman be the one who "organized the exuberant evening".

This case provoked outrage from feminist collectives, who staged a protest outside the court of appeal.

"Aspen, trembling, witches are back"shouted demonstrators who carried placards with messages such as"shame, indignation, the judiciary needs training ".

The protest was organized by the feminist Rebels Network and other human rights organizations who criticize the language used in the reasons for the sentence that acquitted the convicts.

"These words are a new affront to the victim, they have nothing to do with the search for the truth," said Luisa Rizzitelli of Rebels Network.

Controversy sentence was canceled this Tuesday in cbadation and the trial on appeal must take place again in Perugia.

For the Attorney General of Ancona, Sergio Sottani, who challenged the sentence, it must be avoided that "the words used may constitute another form of violence against women".

And he rejected the fact that "the lack of badual attraction of the alleged rapist by the victim could represent an element of support for the lack of responsibility".

(With information from EFE and AFP)