Udine - The court in Udine handed down a landmark verdict on Friday against a 20-year-old Tunisian man who physically and emotionally tortured his Italian wife over a period of years. The judges handed down a five-year prison sentence for serious domestic abuse. The case, which took place in central Friuli, paints a picture of a marriage that turned violent and controlling immediately after the wedding in February 2024.
Compulsion to gain weight as a means of isolation
The public prosecutor's investigation revealed an alarming degree of psychological manipulation. The convicted man pursued the goal of completely isolating his wife from the outside world. In order to ensure that „nobody looked at her“, as stated in the trial documents, he forced the young woman to deliberately put on weight. By changing her appearance, he wanted to make her less attractive to others. He also told her to wear loose-fitting clothes, constantly checked her cell phone and forbade any contact with friends or family.
This „claim to ownership“ was underpinned by massive physical violence. The first assaults took place on the wedding night, with the husband beating his wife and threatening her with glass objects. The violence continued even during their stay together in Germany.
Escape to France and final arrest
After the victim finally found the courage to press charges, the man was initially placed under house arrest and monitored with an electronic ankle monitor. However, he evaded justice by removing the device and fleeing to France. He is said to have entered into a new relationship there before being arrested again on his return to Italy.
Although the public prosecutor's office had demanded six years in prison, the court fell just short of this sentence with five years. The accused was acquitted of the charge of sexual violence, as the facts of the case could not be proven beyond doubt. Nevertheless, the verdict sends out a clear signal against the oppression and systematic degradation of women.
