The Basel Court has shocked the public with a decision to significantly reduce the sentence of a convicted male rapist from Brasil as he claimed he saw the victim going to the toilet with another man and wearing provocative clothes several hours before he attacked her.

Brasilian native identified as Joao P., 33, and his then 17-year-old friend whose identity was not disclosed raped victim Alina T., 34, from Switzerland in front of her house in the Elsasserstrasse Street in the Swiss city of Basel on 1st February 2020.

Alina was on her way home when she met P. who she already knew and the 17-year-old teenager on the tram.

The two of them then decided to walk her home despite the woman’s clear indications that she would not welcome anyone in her house as she intended to rest.

However, when they got to the doorstep, one of the men grabbed her from behind, whilst the other grabbed her hair and raped her before running away from the site.

The two rapists immediately fled to France and then to Portugal but Joao P. turned himself in to the Basel police several days after the crime, while the 17-year-old boy was questioned in Portugal has not undergone criminal prosecution yet.

Joao P. was charged with rape and attempted rape and sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment by the Appellate Court in Basel in August 2020, which has now shockingly reduced the rapist’s sentence to 36 months, half of which will be conditional following a complaint by P.’s attorney.

The appeal indicated that the rapist saw Alina heading towards the toilet of a nightclub accompanied by a man several hours before the crime and felt that she was an easy woman who was dancing and flirting with random guys and did not mind unprotected sex.

Moreover, the Brasilian man claimed he was provoked by the woman’s seductive fashion style which according to him contributed to his irrational acts.

Court president Liselotte Henz (FDP) accepted the appeal and agreed that the woman “played with fire” and “sent out signals to men”.

Moreover, the judge concluded that the fault was equally shared between Joao P. and Alina T., whilst the man’s attacks were “relatively brief” and did not inflict permanent physical injuries to the woman according to the judge.

Angered social media users did not fail to criticise the sentence reduction and claimed that “such a judgment is a shame and an absolute mockery for every person who has to survive a rape!”

Swiss cabaret artist Gabriel Vetter added: “Maybe so many rape victims don’t even go to the police because courts in 2021 are still arguing that if you have sex as a woman, you don’t have to be surprised if you are raped, but hey, what do I know.”

The victim’s lawyer Miriam Riegger said: “This is disappointing and incomprehensible. A no is a no and must be accepted – regardless of the victim’s lifestyle. I will first wait for the written verdict and then continue looking.”

Swiss People’s Party Vice President and National Councilor Celine Amaudruz said: “It is incomprehensible that you can accuse a woman of an ambiguous attitude when she says no. The verdict is a slap in the face of the victim and furthermore of all women, because it implies that they bear a certain share of responsibility in the event of sexual assault.”

The Vice President explained that the judgment supports those perpetrators who pretend not to have heard or noticed the refusal of the victim, and added: “At a time when women are fighting against the violence inflicted on them, this judgment sets us back a century.”

Former Lucerne Canton Judge and former Senior Public Prosecutor Marianne Heer said: “The appellate court has confirmed the guilty verdict of the lower court. The size of the sentence is based on a complex decision-making process.”

Meanwhile, Court President Liselotte Henz has not made any public comments yet.