Erstellt am: 4. 10. 2011 - 15:05 Uhr

The end of the Amanda Knox saga?

Reality Check: Amanda Knox released, the bank for those without a bank account, jailed Egyptian blogger, Austria and bank secrecy, one year since Hungarian toxic sludge disaster

For nearly 4 years every twist and turn of the Amanda Knox case has been headline news. Now, as she walks free from the Italian prison where she has been held for nearly 4 years, the saga seems to be finally coming to a close. Even though the prosecution is talking about appealing to the Supreme Court in Rome, Knox is heading for the United States at the moment, and is highly unlikely to be extradited.

The whole case has been a media circus almost on a par with OJ Simpson right from the start, but while 3 people were eventually convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher, the spotlight remained firmly on Amanda Knox. Her then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, who was convicted and sentenced alongside her, and now released with her, has only ever been mentioned as an aside. What also seems to be sometimes forgotten is that another man is sitting in prison, convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher. Rudy Guede was found guilty in a separate trial, allegedly later confessed to the murder in prison, but then denied the confession.

Without going into all the different and contradicting stories of what happened on the night Meredith Kercher died, it can be safely said that we will almost certainly never know the truth. Our Rome correspondent, Josephine McKenna, was at the appeal trial and told Steve Crilley that the appeal hinged on flaws in the original investigation; flaws that cannot now be corrected. The confused and conflicting statements by the 3 people accused are further complicated by an incompetent and incomplete police work. The police relied heavily on forensic evidence at the expense of more traditional techniques of interviewing potential witnesses. However, their collecting of forensic sample was sloppy and flawed, and led to inconclusive results.

The whole thing appears to be a royal mess, but while the legal process is more than likely over, we can rest assured that we haven't heard the end of it. While the names of Rafaelle Sollecito and Rudy Guede will probably fade away (they weren't prominent in the first place), Amanda Knox will almost certainly write her own account of her ordeal. Although there are already several books and 2 films on the subject, publishers will be queuing up for the first hand account, and whether we like it or not, I'm sure we'll hear all about it.

An option for people without bank accounts

Bank accounts are something most of us take for granted. A standing order pays your rent, your salary is paid directly into your account, and you pay your bills by Internet or telebanking. You go shopping and you draw cash from the bank or pay the shop with your bankomat card. In fact, a bank account is so much part of our daily lives that not having one can present real and serious problems. There can be all sorts of reasons why someone may not be able to have a normal bank account, and now there is help available through a scheme called Zweite Sparkasse. Maribel Königer is with the Erste Foundation, which launched the project five years ago, and she told Joanna Bostock about how it works.

Egypt: jailed blogger on hunger strike

Amnesty International is appealing to Egypt's military government to immediately release a jailed blogger who has been on hunger strike for over a month. Maikel Nabil was convicted of spreading false information about the army. He is one of 12.000 civilians to be tried by a military tribunal since the fall of Hosni Mubarak February this year. Bethany Bell in Cairo told Steve Crilley about the allegations and the concerns over Nabil's health.

Bank secrecy vs. confidentiality

A new report on bank secrecy by the Tax Justice Network puts Austria in 17th place among 70 countries assessed for bank secrecy. Elizabeth Alcock asked Nick Shaxson of the Tax Justice Network about the line between secrecy and confidentiality.

1 year on from Hungary's sludge catastrophe

It's exactly a year since the Hungarian villages of Kolontar and Devecse were swamped with red toxic sludge as a dam burst at an aluminium plant. Jurrien Westerhof from Greenpeace has just been back to the site of the disaster, and told Steve Crilley what he found.

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to friday from 12 to 14, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.