The Supreme Court of Iceland yesterday lightened the sentence of Americo Luis Da Silva Concalves, who was convicted at Reykjavík District Court for violently forcing a woman to have sexual intercourse with him.
The Supreme Court confirmed the conviction and found Da Silva Concalves, who is in his thirties, guilty of rape, sentencing him to three-and-a-half years in prison and obligated him to pay the victim ISK one million (USD 15,600, EUR 11,200) in compensation, Morgunbladid reports.
Reykjavík District Court had sentenced Da Silva Concalves earlier to four years in prison and ruled he should pay the victim ISK 1.2 million (USD 18,700, EUR 13,500) in compensation, but the ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court.
The woman’s advocate in the Supreme Court, Steinunn Gudbjartsdóttir, said the court’s conclusion had been a disappointment, stating that the Reykjavík District Court ruling had been more in line with how brutal the rape had been, particularly with the physical and mental injuries the woman had suffered.
Halldóra Halldórsdóttir of Stígamót, the Icelandic counseling and information center for survivors of sexual violence, said the fact that the ruling had been lightened was not the most important point in this case.
“We consider every conviction in cases like these a victory,” Halldórsdóttir said, adding she did not think the ruling was soft compared to other convictions in similar cases.
