A suspect in the murder of a 22-year-old British exchange student last month refused to answer questions put to him on Tuesday by investigating magistrates on then grounds that he was innocent of all changes as demonstrated by the fact that he was released for lack of evidence.
Democratic Republic of Congo national Diya 'Patrick' Lumumba, 38, was arrested three days after the November 3 murder of Meredith Kercher based on testimony given by another suspect, Kercher's 20-year-old American roommate Amanda Marie Knox.
He was released more than three weeks later after witness came forward to confirm his alibi that he was at work at the time of the murder and forensic experts found no evidence of his presence at the murder scene.
Knox later retracted her statements to the police and apologised to Lumumba.
Speaking to the press following his meeting with magistrates, Lumumba said he had forgiven the American ''in the name of God''.
''God helped me through this experience and in His name I have forgiven her,'' the long-time Perugia resident and pub operator said.
An attorney for Lumumba said his client did not answer magistrates' questions because ''from the very beginning we demonstrated our client's innocence and we have asked that all accusations against him be shelved''.
Kercher was found with her throat slashed in the house she shared in Perugia with three other girls.
Police later arrested Knox, her 24-year-old Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and Lumumba on suspicion of murder.
Lumumba was released November 20, the same day that a fourth suspect, 21-year-old Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, was arrested.
Guede was identified and taken into custody by German police after being discovered without a ticket on a train between the town of Mainz and the the central German city of Wiesbaden.
A German court on Monday authorised Guede's extradition to Italy which is expected to take place at the end of this week or at the beginning of next.
The former semi-professional basketball player is believed to have left Perugia the day after Kercher was killed.
A warrant was issued for Guede's arrest after police identified a bloody fingerprint left on Kercher's pillow as his.
Guede's fingerprints were also found on toilet paper at the crime scene and his DNA matched DNA found in the toilet of the crime scene and in a vaginal swab of the victim.
He has admitted that he had sex with Kercher but claims he was in the bathroom when the murder was committed.
Guede reportedly also told police he saw the murderer, who he claimed was white, and had scuffled with him before running away.
The Ivory Coast national also claimed that he had tried to help Kercher but had then panicked and fled the scene when he realised she was dead.
Investigators are still trying to determine the motive for Kercher's murder and working on hypotheses related to sexual activities and theft.
