Suspect in Italian femicide case held in Germany

An Italian man wanted in Italy for the murder of his former partner was arrested on a German motorway late on Saturday evening, police in the eastern city of Halle reported on Sunday, said dpa.

German police stopped the 22-year-old suspect on the A9 motorway near Leipzig and detained him under a European arrest warrant. The German authorities released no information on the arrest.

His car had previously been sighted in Austria.

The dead woman, a 22-year-old student from Vigonovo near Venice, went missing more than a week ago following a meeting with her former partner. Her body was found on Saturday in a ravine near Lake Barcis in the north-eastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia following a search.

The authorities had officially opened an investigation into the ex-boyfriend a few days earlier.

According to media reports, the couple had been together for 18 months before the woman ended the relationship during the summer. They remained in contact and were seen together in a shopping centre last weekend, after which she disappeared.

The case has caused outrage in Italy and unleashed a public debate on a rise in femicide.

According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 80 women have been killed this year because of their gender. The killers were mostly partners or former partners.