Lawyer: European Human Rights Court to hear Amanda Knox case

FILE - In this Friday, March 27, 2015 file photo, Amanda Knox talks to members of the media outside her mother's home in Seattle. The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear Amanda Knox's case challenging her slander conviction during the trial for her British roommate's 2007 murder, her Italian defense lawyer said Friday, May 20, 2016. Dalla Vedova said the Strasbourg court's decision this week is "good news" for his client, because the vast majority of cases are rejected at the preliminary stage. The Italian government has until September to provide its response. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file) (The Associated Press)

MILAN – The Italian defense lawyer for Amanda Knox says the European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear the U.S. woman's case challenging her slander conviction during the trial for her British roommate's murder.

Carlo Dalla Vedova said Friday that the Strasbourg court's decision this week is "good news" because the vast majority of cases are rejected. He said the Italian government has until September to provide its response.

Knox's team argues that the slander charge violated her human rights because it was based on statements she made under duress and without a defense lawyer or translator present.

Italy's highest court overturned the murder conviction against Knox and her former boyfriend last March, but upheld her slander conviction for wrongly accusing a Congolese-born bar owner in the murder.