Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

Amanda Knox has urged the convicted killer of Brit student Meredith Kercher to stop blaming everyone else and tell the truth about what happened on the night her friend died.

The statement came after it was revealed that Rudy Guede had been freed from prison after 16 years, where he had maintained all the time that although he was present on the night of the murder, he did not kill her.

Twenty-one-year-old Meredith from Coulsdon in Surrey had been sexually assaulted and died after she was stabbed repeatedly and her throat was cut at the house that she lived in in Italy.

The 34-year-old man had been behind bars for the 2007 murder and sex assault in Perugia, Italy, after a court heard that his fingerprints were found at the scene as well as a bloody palm print that was later found to belong to him. News of his early release was announced after it was revealed his 30 years in prison had been cut to 16 years by magistrates.

He continues to maintain his innocence and adds: “I want to write to Meredith’s family and apologise for not saving her life. I should have called an ambulance when I found her dying.”

Meredith’s housemate Amanda Knox and Knox’s then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were also convicted, but subsequently cleared in 2011.

Amanda, however, has slammed his statement, saying: “Guede holds a tremendous power to heal others harmed by his actions. He has the power to tell the truth, to take responsibility, to stop blaming me for the rape and murder of Meredith Kercher, which a wealth of evidence shows he committed alone.”

She continued: “Were he to actually acknowledge his responsibility, it would bring closure to the Kercher family, it would end the murky speculation around this case, it would restore my wrongly damaged reputation, and that of Raffaele.

“His honesty would also end the slanted media coverage, which endlessly repeats the phrase ‘the only person who remains convicted of killing British student Meredith Kercher’ which is true, but implies that there were multiple responsible parties.

“There were not. Guede acted alone. And if he were to admit to his actions, then the media could simply refer to him without this convoluted phrasing: ‘Rudy Guede, the man who killed Meredith Kercher and blamed an innocent American girl.’

“Guede could do all that right now. He could ask for forgiveness. And if he did, if he showed true remorse and signs that he was committed to an honest life and to making amends for his terrible crimes, I would applaud him, wish him well, and urge others to see his humanity.

“People change. Has Rudy? They say the truth will set you free. Today he’s free, and he has yet to tell the truth, allowing others to continue bearing the burden of his guilt.”

In the days after Meredith’s death, Guede fled Italy to Germany, where he was arrested and extradited. He was found guilty after a fast-track trial that was held behind closed doors.

His lawyer Fabrizio Ballarini said on his release: “It’s the conclusive moment of a very sad affair.

“First thoughts must go to the victim and her family. Rudy has undergone an excellent course of re-education.”