The rape lasted only 11 minutes, therefore, the federal court in Switzerland considered that the rapist did not deserve too severe a punishment and… softened it.
How reports Swissinfo, the victim was raped in the entrance of her own house by two men, 33 and 17 years old. This happened in 2020 in the city of Basel. Only the senior offender received a sentence, but his punishment was commuted.
In 2021, the Basel Court of Appeal found that the “relatively short” duration of the violent act was 11 minutes. In addition, the victim “gave mixed signals” – before that, she was in a bar and had voluntary unprotected sexual intercourse with another man. Based on these facts, the sentence was commuted.
A similar court decision led to protests in several cities in Switzerland. About 500 people gathered in front of the institution in Basel and silently held their hands up for 11 minutes – that’s how long the violence lasted.
On November 22, 2023, the Federal Court ruled that it accepted the consideration of the “relatively short” duration of the rape in sentencing. But the punishment for the criminal should be increased, and the incident in the bar is not related to the crime and cannot influence the sentence. The case will be heard again by a lower court, which must impose a more severe sentence.
The seventeen-year-old rapist was acquitted by a juvenile court. However, an appeal against this decision is ahead.
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