AMANDA Knox was seen in tears as she returns to court to overturn a conviction for slander related to the 2007 killing of a British student.
The American activist, 36, spent nearly four years behind bars in Italy after she was wrongfully convicted of murdering Meredith Kercher.
APAmanda Knox cries as she arrives at the Florence courtroom on Wednesday[/caption]
ReutersKnox appears on the day of the verdict in the slander case[/caption]
AFPAmanda Knox arrives with her husband Christopher Robinson at the courthouse[/caption]
The slander case is the last outstanding case against Knox following Kercher’s death.
Knox said on X this week: “I hope to clear my name once and for all of the false charges against me.
“Wish me luck!”
The American was 20 years old when she and her Italian then-boyfriend were arrested for the brutal killing of 21-year-old Kercher, who Knox was sharing a flat with in Perugia.
Kercher’s half-naked body was found in a pool of blood inside the roommates’ cottage in November 2007.
Her throat had been slit and she had suffered multiple stab wounds.
Knox was found guilty, acquitted, found guilty again, and then finally cleared of all charges in 2015 – but still had a conviction for slander.
The slander conviction related to her blaming Kercher’s murder on a local bar owner, Patrick Lumumba, during initial police questioning.
Lumumba was held for two weeks in 2007 before he was freed without charge, as Knox claimed she named him while under duress.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that there had been procedural errors during Knox’s questioning.
Italy’s highest court threw out the conviction on appeal and ordered a retrial in October, which began earlier this year in Florence.
But Knox did not appear at court – until today.
In October, Knox wrote: “Though I was exonerated for murder, I remained wrongly convicted of slander.”
She said Lumumba “was my friend” at the time of the murder, adding: “We are both victims of the violation of my human rights during my interrogation, without which I was helpless against the coercive pressure of the police.”
Knox was pictured in tears as she arrived at the Florence court this morning, flanked by husband Christopher Robinson.
The American is expected to appear in the same courtroom where she was reconvicted of murder in 2014, and to receive a verdict – which both parties will be able to appeal.
Knox is now a journalist, author, and campaigner for criminal justice reform, and married with two young children.
MEREDITH KERCHER
Meredith Kercher was born in Southwark, South London on December 28, 1985.
The 21-year-old’s body was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom on November 2, 2007.
An autopsy conducted on her body found that her throat had been cut and she had been stabbed almost 50 times.
It also found that she had 16 bruises, including on her nose and mouth, and suffered injuries related to sexual assault.
In 2007, fingerprints at the scene were found to belong to Rudy Guede, who was later charged and sentenced for the brutal murder.
He was granted early release in November 2021.
The case attracted global media interest, with Knox at the centre.
APAmanda Knox is escorted by Italian penitentiary police officers to Perugia’s court in Italy, September 26, 2008[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationExchange student Meredith Kercher was found stabbed to death in her flat in Perugia[/caption]
AFPKnox attends a panel discussion titled ‘Trial by Media’ in northern Italy in 2019[/caption]
Instagram / Amanda KnoxThe mum-of-two is expecting to receive a verdict on a slander case this week[/caption]