Not self-defence if accept challenge says top court

(ANSA) - Rome, July 19 - A defendant cannot be acquitted for legitimate self-defence if they have accepted a challenge to fight, Italy's top court said Thursday. "Someone who accepts a challenge or reacts to a voluntarily determined situation of danger cannot invoke legitimate self-defence," the supreme Cassation Court said.
    This despite the possibility of "getting away from the place without prejudice and without dishonour," it said.
    The high court thus confirmed a guilty verdict for Umberto Stregapede, who killed his brother-in-law Stefano Petroni with 31 stab wounds in 2015 in Rome.
    The court upheld a prison term of six years and two months with the extenuating circumstance of provocation.