Amanda Knox Still ‘Loves’ Italy, May Return for Parents’ Slander Trial

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Amanda Knox, right, acknowledges the cheers of supporters while her mother comforts her following her release from prison in October, 2011.

Despite her four-year stint in an Italian prison, Amanda Knox still “loves” the country and would like to return, her attorney told ABC News. She apparently said she’d particularly like to visit Perugia, the city where she was detained for allegedly murdering her roommate, until the verdict was later overturned.

Turns out Knox could have an excuse to return to the Umbrian hilltop town sooner than later — this time to potentially testify as a witness for her parents, who have been charged with slandering the Perugia police. The charges emerged from a 2009 interview with the London Sunday Times, in which Knox’s father, Curt, claimed she suffered physical and verbal abuse. Knox’s mother, Edda Mellas, told the paper that her daughter had been warned she’d never see her family again. If found guilty, Knox’s parents could face up to three years in prison. According to ABC, Knox might be the only witness for the defense.

Knox was also charged with slander after testifying that her former boss, Patrick Lumumba, was implicated in the murder. After overturning the murder charge last October, the Italian court upheld the slander conviction. A hearing on that charge is scheduled for July.

Ongoing legal troubles notwithstanding, Knox still hopes someday to hop on an Italy-bound plane — not as an accused murderer or a trial witness, but simply as a tourist.

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