Prosecutor seeks wife beater's acquittal due to his 'culture'

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 12 - A Brescia prosecutor has sparked a furore by requesting that a case against a Bangladeshi man for allegedly mistreating his wife be shelved on the grounds that the abuse was the result of his "cultural system" and not the "will to crush or degrade the spouse".
    The request led to calls for Justice Minister Carlo Nordio to send in inspectors.
    The Brescia prosecutor's office on Tuesday distanced itself from the request, while stressing that the magistrate was independent in taking such decisions.
    Brescia Prosecutor Francesco Prete said the office "repudiates any form of judicial relativism, does not admit justifications that do not belong to our laws and has always been extremely firm in pursuing violence... against women regardless of any cultural reference". (ANSA).