Mobster and child-killer will testify for Knox

Five serving prisoners including a convicted Mafia mobster are to testify to Amanda Knox's innocence as part of her appeal.

They will attend court in Perugia, Italy, under armed guard, after a judge ruled they could be heard.

Knox, 24, and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 27, were jailed 18 months ago for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, 21, from Coulsdon in Surrey, who was found semi-naked with her throat cut at the house she and fellow student Knox shared in Perugia. Knox, who is American, was sentenced to 26 years and Sollecito is serving 25 years.

The five witnesses will testify that neither Knox nor Sollecito had any part in the murder. Luciano Aviello, who is serving 10 years for Mafia-related crimes, says his brother Antonio, who is on the run, killed Miss Kercher when she disturbed him breaking in.

The others to give evidence include convicted child-killer Mario Alessi, who says he was told Knox and Sollecito were innocent while sharing a cell with Rudy Guede, 24, who is serving 16 years for Miss Kercher's murder.

Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said: "In essence they all heard in jail that Amanda and Raffaele are innocent."