Italian women given right to lie about affairs

BBC:

Italy's highest appeal court has ruled that married Italian women who commit adultery are entitled to lie about it to protect their honour.

The court gave its landmark ruling after hearing the case of a 48-year-old woman, convicted of giving false testimony to police by denying she had lent her mobile phone to her lover.

The appeal court did not agree that she had broken the law.

It said bending the truth was justified to conceal extra-marital relationships.

In a predominantly Catholic country you might expect the courts to take a dim view of lying and adultery.

But not in this case.

The woman who brought the appeal was from Porto Ercole on the Tuscany coast, and named only as Carla.

She had lent her telephone to her secret lover, Giovanni, who then used it to call Carla's estranged husband, Vincenzo, and insult him.

Giovanni, the lover, was convicted of abusive behaviour in a local court, and Carla convicted as an accessory.

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Aside from the fact that the woman and her lover are jerks, I am curious whether Italians don't have caller ID. I bet Bill Clinton wishes he had this court deciding his fate. Betrayal of trust is apparently something worth protecting in Italy. Was the call at 3 a.m.?