Italy frees man convicted of 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher
Rudy Guede was freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.
![](https://www.expressandstar.com/resizer/cNc9MrKqbrlWpjm3FDiHNEBR3oI=/300x225/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mna/BZBX6LCXMZC75BJNKZYJKXPY2A.jpg)
The only person convicted in the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.
Italian news agencies LaPresse and ANSA quoted lawyer Fabrizio Ballarini as saying that Rudy Guede’s release, planned for January 4, had been moved up a few weeks by a judge, and he was freed on Tuesday.
Guede had already been granted permission to leave prison during the day to work while he served his sentence for the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher.
![Italy Student Slain](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/b5a9abcd22a2d3e80f7ad9bc3cb63263Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjM3NzcwODEz/2.63909917.jpg?w=640)
The case in the university city of Perugia gained international notoriety after Ms Kercher’s American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Knox’s then-boyfriend were placed under suspicion. Both were initially convicted, but Italy’s highest court threw out the convictions in 2015 after a series of flip-flop decisions.
Guede was originally convicted in a fast-track trial procedure. He has denied killing Ms Kercher.