Izzy Lyons
© Gary Cameron/Reuters Norwegian Dawn cruise ship in Bermuda in 2013.
An Italian teenager accused of raping a 17-year-old British girl on a European cruise has walked free on a legal technicality because the alleged attack occurred in international waters.
The victim, who was travelling with her parents, reportedly told Spanish police that her attacker forced her into his cabin before raping her on Thursday as the MSC Divina cruise ship made its way to Valencia in Spain from the Mallorcan capital of Palma.
The suspect, an 18-year-old who is understood to live in Italy, was arrested by police the following day on the vessel, which is registered in Panama.
However, he was later freed by a duty court in the city after the judge concluded he did not have jurisdiction to probe the alleged crime because it was committed by a foreigner on another foreigner in international waters and on Panamanian territory.
The release has been linked to Spain’s legal reforms of the doctrine of universal jurisdiction.
In 2009, Spanish law was modified so that crimes against humanity which took place in other countries could only be heard in their courts if they involve Spanish victims or suspects present in Spain.
Local Spanish media yesterday reported that the judge could only have claimed jurisdiction over the crime if the alleged Italian suspect had lived in Spain. The arrest occurred so the courts could establish if that was the case, before discovering he had no residential address in the country.
Now the judge has called on British, Italian and Panamanian authorities to look into the allegation, according to Spanish media.
However, it is not clear whether Britain has the power to intervene over the case as “extraterritorial jurisdiction” is usually only asserted over British citizens if they commit a crime abroad, not when they are victims of it.
The sex attack is said to have occurred around 5am on Thursday. The ship docked in Valencia at 7.35am and left just after 4pm the same day for Marseille, without the suspect on board but with the British girl and her parents.
She was examined at Valencia’s La Fe Hospital as part of a rape crimes protocol. DNA tests are also understood to have taken place in the cabin where the sex attack allegedly occurred and on the British girl’s clothes so they could be analysed at Valencia’s Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The vessel, which was christened in May 2012 by Sophia Loren, has the capacity for 3,502 passengers.
It is due to reach Palermo in Italy tomorrow this morning (MON) at 9am on stop 16 of a 27-day cruise across Europe.
A spokesman for MSC Cruises said: “As there is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide any additional comment on this matter.
“Additionally, this is a matter that relates to guests who were travelling on board one of our ships. Within this context, our company is fully cooperating with the authorities overseeing this investigation, but is not itself in any way subject to it.”
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that it was helping the victim, adding: “Our consular staff are providing support and assistance to a British woman and her family following an incident on board a cruise ship.”