Court: Italian Women Can Lie About Adultery

Judges say they can fib, even to police, to protect their honor
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 8, 2008 3:05 PM CST
Court: Italian Women Can Lie About Adultery
Italy's Court of Cassation found that having a lover was a circumstance that damaged the honour of the person among family and friends. Lying about it, therefore, was permitted, even in a judicial investigation. It is not yet clear whether the ruling might also apply to men who have secret mistresses,...   (Index Stock)

Italian adulterers have made their bed, and now the country’s top appeals court says they can lie in it: The Court of Cassation has ruled that married women can tell fibs to cover up an affair to protect their honor, the BBC reports. The judgment stems from the case of a woman who was convicted of giving false testimony to police.

The 48-year-old denied lending her cell phone to her lover, who was convicted of using it to verbally abuse her husband. She was convicted as an accessory, but the court overturned the decision, arguing that extra-marital relationships cause “injury to a person’s honor in a family and a social context.” It’s unclear if the ruling also applies to unfaithful husbands. (More Italy stories.)

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