Palermo rape case at Foro Italico: defense lawyers request girl’s examination

After the rejection from the judge, the lawyers of the boys accused of the gang rape of a nineteen-year-old woman, raped a year ago in Palermo, are once again asking for the victim to be examined in court. The request was made to the court of the Sicilian capital, before which the case arrived after the defense lawyers gave up on the abbreviated trial due to the judge’s refusal to their investigative requests, including the interrogation of the young woman. The law allows the requests to be reiterated to the court and possibly access the simplified procedure.

The court reserved the decision and postponed the trial to June 10th. In addition to the examination of the girl, the lawyers asked for the summoning of a friend of hers to talk about a voicemail received by the girl around 1am the night of the rape. In the message, which lasts about 29 seconds, the young woman reportedly said she was calm, showed no fear, and told the friend that she was at the Foro Italico and they would see each other shortly. This circumstance, according to the defendants’ lawyers, would demonstrate that she was consenting and never tried to attract the attention of passersby to get help while going with the rapists to the abandoned construction site where the violence occurred.

At 2am the young woman reportedly sent another message to the friend saying she could no longer meet him. The lawyers also want to hear from a friend of the girl, now twenty years old, who, during the defensive investigations, reported that she had learned from the young woman that she had had a consensual relationship.