An indigenous woman in Mexico was sentenced to six years and two months in prison for the murder of her rapist.

The court acknowledged that the woman, named only as Roxana Ruiz, acted in self-defence when she killed her attacker in 2021, but said she used excessive force.

The woman, 23, first knocked the man unconscious, then strangled him and finally tried to dismember his body.

She kept the body for at least 20 hours before putting it in a plastic bag on the street.

The court said that it took into consideration the woman’s “vulnerability as a woman and as an indigenous person” in its sentencing.

Ruiz will be appealing the sentence, which was handed down by Judge Mónica Osorio in Mexico on Monday, her attorney said.

“I feel sad, disappointed in (the) justice (system), they locked me up for nine months, they give me a sentence,” she said following the court hearing, according to Daily Mail.

“If I had not defended myself, I would be the dead one.”

The single mother from the southern state of Oaxaca is supported by women’s organisations.

She had already spent nine months in pre-trial detention before being released for the duration of the trial.

Her lawyer, Ángel Carrera, fears that Osorio’s ruling could set ‘a bad precedent’ going forward if is not overturned.

“It’s sending the message to women that, you know what, the law says you can defend yourself, but only to a point,’ he said.

“He raped you, but you don’t have the right to do anything.”

Judge Osorio backed her sentencing by indicating that Ruiz “could have given him a blow to the head to defend herself and leaving him unconscious would have been enough.”

She also ordered Ruiz to make a $16,000 reparation payment to Sinai Cruz’s family. (Agency Report: Text, Excluding Headline)

Update news