Rape took ‘only 11 minutes’: Swiss court cuts jail term for culprit, women protest

Hundreds of Swiss protesters rallied in Basel following a court's decision to reduce the sentence of a rapist who was convicted last month, saying that the assault lasted only 11 minutes.

Protesters holding signs reading "11 minutes are 11 minues too many" protested in front of the Swiss Appeals Court in Basel.

The sentence was reduced by the court citing the duration of the sexual assault, which it said "only" lasted 11 minutes, and the fact that the victim was not severely hurt.

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In the case from last year, the woman was raped following a nightout at a nightclub. The assault took place in her apartment in Basel, northwest Switzerland. A 33-year-old Portuguese man and his 17-year-old companion were the culprits in the February 2020 incident.

In August, the 33-year-old was found guilty of rape, while the teenager has not been formally convicted andis still awaiting a juvenile court decision on his case.

Basel Social Democrats' vice president, Marcel Columb, tweeted that the rapist's sentence was already short and that the lessened jail time sent a wrong message to victims of sexual abuse.

The court, presided over byJudge Liselotte Henz, opted to sentence the rapist to three years instead of four years and three months.

According to the judge, the perpetrator had a "medium" degree of fault in the incident.

Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported that the judge commented on an incident in which the victim may have been making out with another man in the nightclub,and said the victim gave off certain signals and was "playing with fire".

According to the newspaper, the defendant might be released on Wednesday.

The reduced sentence was met with widespread criticism.

In a statement,the Swiss feminist organisation Frauenstreik Basel said violence against a person comes from the perpetrator alone and is "humiliating" and "violent" no matter how long it lasts.