Man who beat girlfriend unconscious, gouged out her eyes then left her to die has sentence reduced

'He harassed me for every little thing, for the food that I cooked "badly",' Nabila Rifo told the court

Signs reading 'Justice for Nabila, for a life free from violence' were brandished as women protested the reduction of Mauricio Ortega's sentence (EPA/MARIO RUIZ)

A man who beat his girlfriend unconscious before gouging her eyes out and leaving her to die has had his sentence reduced.

Chile's Supreme Court reduced Mauricio Ortega's jail term from 26 to 18 years, as the court ruled he was not attempting to kill Nabila Rifo when he brutally attacked her.

Hundreds protested outside the gates of the court, protesting against what they saw as an unjust decision.

The case has come to be seen as emblematic of the ongoing domestic violence crisis in Chile.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who led the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, visited Ms Rifo in hospital while she was recovering.

Ortega was found guilty of causing serious injury and "frustrated femicide" - a legal term in the country referring to the killing of a woman because of her gender.

His defence lawyer, Ricardo Flores, asked for a retrial to get the sentence reduced.

Last month, Mr Florres said: "From the legal point of view, it would have been simpler to have killed her than simply to have left her alive."

Although the court rejected the appeal for a retrial, it overruled the prosecution for frustrated or attempted femicide and reduced Ortega's jail time.

During the trial, Ms Rifo told the court: "He harassed me for every little thing, for the food that I cooked 'badly'. He told me I was a whore. Sometimes he even dragged me down the stairs."

The mother-of-four told the Chilean press she wanted to share her story as an example to others.