Dutchman Romano van der Dussen has been released from a Spanish jail after serving 12 years for a violent rape he did not commit.

Van der Dussen has always denied any involvement in the crime and last year British police confirmed the dna of the rapist matches that of British man Mark Dixie who has since been jailed for murder. Dixie also confessed.

The Spanish high court on Thursday overturned the rape conviction, for which Van der Dussen was given 6.5 years but still considers him guilty of two sexual assaults and robbery, which carry a nine-year sentence.

Crowdfunding

Stepping foot outside the jail in Mallora, Van der Dussen told RTL news: ‘I am not sure what I am supposed to feel’.

Van der Dussen said he will continue to fight to clear his name on the other charges. ‘If Spain will not give me justice, I will go to an international court to take action against the Spanish state,’ he said

It is not clear if Van der Dussen has been given any compensation. Dutch charity PrisonLaw raised €10,000 by crowdfunding to fight Van der Dussen’s case.

Van der Dussen was not brought back to the Netherlands to serve his sentence because ‘he lived in Spain at the time of his arrest’, RTL quoted the Dutch foreign affairs ministry as saying last year.