An appeals court in Italy has overturned a rape verdict in part by arguing that the woman who was attacked was too ugly and “masculine” to be a credible rape victim.
The ministry of justice in Italy has ordered a preliminary inquiry into the controversial ruling handed down in 2017.
Protesters took to the Ancona court on Monday to express their disappointment with the ruling.
An all-female panel had made the ruling, but it only became public when Italy’s high court annulled it on March 5 and ordered a retrial.
The appeals sentence quoted one of the suspects as saying he found the woman unattractive and had her listed as “Viking” on his cellphone.
Two Peruvian men were initially convicted of the 2015 rape of a Peruvian woman in Ancona, but the Italian appeals court overturned the verdict and released them, prompting the defence lawyer to appeal to the Court of Cassation.
