Advertisement

Rudy Guede released: Man convicted of British student Meredith Kercher's murder is freed from prison

A man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007 has been freed early from jail.

Rudy Guede served about 13 years of a 16-year prison sentence, said his lawyer, Fabrizio Ballarini.

He was convicted in 2008 and had been due to be freed on 4 January next year, but a judge brought forward his release date.

Guede was already allowed to leave prison during the day to work in the library at the Centre for Criminology Studies in Viterbo, central Italy.

The murder case - in the university city of Perugia - was the subject of international attention.

Ms Kercher's American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were placed under suspicion.

Both were initially convicted, but Italy's highest court quashed their convictions in 2015.

Guede, who has denied killing 21-year-old Ms Kercher, was originally convicted in a fast-track trial procedure.