NewsBreakingOnline

Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, make final pleas in their appeal against convictions for murdering the British student Meredith Kercher 9.31am: Speaking in Italian, in a halting voice, Knox almost immediately breaks down in tears and is told by the judges that she can take a break. She instead take a deep breath and continues, still sounding shaky. She immediately mentions Kercher: Over the past four years I have lost a friend in the most brutal way, in an unexplained manner. Also, my trust in the police has been betrayed. 9.28am: After reminiscing about first meeting Knox, who he describes as “sunny and sweet”, Sollecito begins summing up with a dramatic flourish. He points to a bracelet he wears, saying it bears the message, “Amanda and Raffaele free”, saying he had never taken it off in prison. He then removes it. It;’s now Knox’s turn to speak. 9.22am: Sollecito says he “and Amanda” – he is very much tying together their fates – have spent 20 hours a day for the past 1,400 days in cells measuring around 2.5m by 3.5m. Both their families have made “huge sacrifices” to assist them, he adds. This is a very emotional appeal so far, with little mention of the evidence. 9.20am: Interesting point in a tweet from the BBC’s Daniel Sandford : No mention of the victim Meredith Kercher yet from Raffaele. #amandaknox 9.17am: Sollecito is now describing life in prison: Every day, in prison, by the end of the day, you feel dead, Every day is like that. He is dismissing as “totally untrue” reports that he has tried to implicate Knox in the crime. So far his statement is quite fractured, and very emotional. 9.14am: Ghirga has finished, and Raffaele Sollecito, the co-defendant and Knox’s former boyfriend, is addressing the judges. He is clearly nervous, and much more halting than the lawyer. He explains that the case feels like a nightmare from which he cannot wake. He tells them: I have never harmed anyone, never, ever in my life. 9.12am: Here’s a picture of Knox entering court before. 9.07am: Back with the lawyer’s address, he has been telling the judges that the knife identified as the weapon which killed Kercher is not compatible with the wounds which killed the British student. He is now winding up his address. 9.06am: The BBC’s Daniel Sandford, also in court, meanwhile tweets this : Raffaele is quietly reading his personal address to the court, rehearsing it while #amandaknox lawyer adresses judges and jury 9.03am: John Hooper has tweeted this initial thought on the lawyer’s address: #amandaknox lawyer Ghirga less impressive, more strident than in his moving address on her behalf last week. 8.56am: Luciano Ghirga, Knox’s lawyer, is now addressing the panel of judges in a courtroom so packed that some members of the media are standing. He is discussing the knife used as evidence by prosecutors, and saying Knox faced significant hostility from police. Her eventual statement suggested “intense suggestion”, he says. 8.54am: The BBC website has a live stream of the hearing here . 8.45am: John Hooper has just filed an updated story which further explains what will be happening today: Both appellants are expected to plead in person for their appeals to be upheld and their sentences to be overturned. The frescoed and vaulted 14th century courtroom was packed with jostling camera crews and reporters as proceedings began more than a half an hour behind schedule. Today’s proceedings were to due to open with a final rebuttal from Knox’s lawyer, Luciano Ghirga. After the personal statements by the American student and her ex-lover, the two professional judges will retire together with six lay judges who are to help them reach a decision. He also has this, on Italian opinion about the case: Local auguries for their appeal were inconclusive, but showed up a division that did not bode well for the appellants. A survey among Italian university students, carried out by the web site Universinet.it, found that the 6,130 respondents split almost evenly between those who thought the couple were innocent (44 per cent), and those who thought they were guilty (48 per cent), with the remainder uncertain. But the balance of opinion was starkly different according to gender. Only 21 per cent of men thought Knox and Sollecito should continue to serve their sentences. Among women, the proportion rose to 68 per cent. The poll, reported by the Italian news agency Ansa, is particularly relevant in the light of the predominantly female panel that will reach a decision. Both the professional judges, who will cast three votes between them, are men. But the lay judges, who have six ballots, include five women. 8.39am: Knox and Sollecito have now arrived in the courtroom. TV coverage shows Knox in close consultation with her lawyers. Knox, as you would expect, looks nervous. 8.17am: You can follow John’s Twitter updates from today’s events here . He’s also just tweeted a small list of other useful people to follow for the day. 8.10am: After a tortuous, four-year legal process, we are finally here: today we should learn whether Amanda Knox might be freed following an appeal against her conviction for killing the British student Meredith Kercher . An eight-member panel of judges in Perugia, Italy, will decide whether Knox, now 24, and her 27-year-old former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 27, will be acquitted of the gruesome 2007 crime or whether they should serve their sentences, 26 years and 25 years respectively. There is a third option, that the judges could decide to reduce their sentences. John Hooper has provided all the background in this story . He and my other colleague in Italy, Tom Kington , are both in Perugia, and will be sending me updates. What is set to be a dramatic day will open with Knox and Sollecito making their final appeals for freedom. A verdict from the panel, comprising six lay judges and two professional judges, should come some time this evening. This is one of the more sensational court cases of recent years, taking in as it does a photogenic main defendant variously portrayed as a temptress witch or an innocent, faithful woman in love , and a shocking crime incorporating allegations of sex games gone wrong. But whatever today’s drama, and the eventual verdict, it’s worth remembering throughout that at the centre of events remains a 21-year-old Leeds University student , the youngest of four children, who went to Perugia at the start of September 2007, full of excitement at what lay ahead, and was dead just eight weeks later. As Kercher’s mother, Arline, told the original trial: “It’s such a shock to send your child to school and for them to not come back.” Amanda Knox Meredith Kercher Italy Europe United States Peter Walker guardian.co.uk