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"Defending my life is not a crime": Mexican Roxana Ruiz taking part in a demonstration
Photograph:
Sashenka Gutierrez v EPA
An indigenous woman in Mexico convicted of murdering her rapist probably doesn't have to go to prison after all. After 23-year-old Roxana Ruiz was sentenced to six years and two months in prison a week ago, the judge in charge has now discontinued the criminal proceedings at the request of the public prosecutor's office. This was reported by local media on Tuesday. The relatives of the slain man can still appeal.
The prosecution re-examined the case and decided to withdraw the charges. The 23-year-old had been found guilty on May 15 of using excessive force to defend herself against her rapist in 2021. Accordingly, the woman had first beaten the perpetrator unconscious, strangled him and finally tried to dismember the body. She kept the body for at least 20 hours and then took it out into the street in a plastic bag.
The single mother from the southern state of Oaxaca, who was supported by women's organizations, spent nine months in pre-trial detention before being released for the duration of the trial.
Women's rights groups have repeatedly accused Mexican authorities of revictimizing survivors and failing to judge cases from a gender perspective.
KIM/DPA