nessuno
Well-Known Member
Hi All.
Rome 29 June: Currently i am in Genova after beating a retreat from the intense Saharan heat in Rome. I have been here a month in Italy awaiting the delayed verdict of the Armando Diaz school raid which was mounted during the night of July 21st/22nd 2001 during the Genoa G8.
The verdict was supposed to been on the 15th of June and delivered by the Corti of Cassazione, the supreme court of appeal. 26 commanders and men are on trial for the mexican butchers shop raid that almost killed and injured many people and some are responsible for shipping many of the injured to the Bolzaneto detention centre where they were tortured.
Many have been promoted for what they did at Diaz and this includes Francesco Gratteri who has recently been promoted to deputy chief of police of italy by Manganelli.
The best case scenario is that 15 commanders will be found guilty and sent to jail for the sentence they were given on May 18th 2010. Another 10 will be stripped of uniform and banned from serving for five years (probably forever). The convictions will be based on the charges of 'Aggrevated Arrest' and forgery. these are the only two charges that survive inside italy's statute of limitations.
Worst case scenario, they are aquitted or a re-trial will be ordered which will only produce paper convictions not worth the paper they are written on.
Other charges (which they were found guilty) of planting military weapons ( anti-terrorist commanders planted two molotov cocktails at Diaz), GBH, False arrest and other serious crimes are now outside statute of limitations.
I was the only Diaz victim to attend the week long hearings at Cassazione. The size of this court makes the old bailey seem small. I wanted to see and understand how Cassazione works since most people never do. Even tourists are banned and cameras restricted. Only plaintiffs and their lawyers are allowed entry. I also wanted to see the Diaz navigate the final leg to ultimate judgement, to see the police lawyers delay as much as possible (and they succeeded in disrupting the court proceedings) and to see the Cassazione judges for myself.
Cassazione only exists as a final appeal stage to consider process, law and legal principles. Not the evidence. The police lawyers wasted much of the courts time with rehashing old arguments they had used in the Genoa courts and attempting to talk about the evidence. They had of course, succeeded in reducing the severity of the charges and sentence by delaying the Genoa judges as much as possible. They tried the same thing in Cassazione and hit a brick wall. Cassazione does not like to have its time wasted.
The only serious moment was when they challenged the Chief Prosecutor of Genoa - Gaetano Saya - and attempted to use a ECHR ruling from Moldova but this was dismissed by the court. Next they attempted to get Troiani, the cop who transported the molotovs into Diaz, aquitted. If they had succeeded, the command chain and entire case would of collapsed. They failed. Next, they made a statement stating that their clients were entirely innocent of all charges and that it was Canterini and the 7th mobile responsible for everything. Finally, the police lawyers challenged the 'Aggrevated Arrest' charge with the hope of reducing the final sentence to a suspended sentence for forgery.
We shall see in 90 days how the Corti of Cassazione has reasoned everything presented to them. My view is that the police lawyers have massively failed their clients but on the other hand the commanders are so damned as almost caught in the act and they are dealing with a Diaz case that has 500% evidence against them.
Biondi, the most senior police lawyer, to his own suprise (which he may come to regret) managed to cause a delay (by talking too long and challenging the most senior Cassazione president judge) to the Diaz verdict by 20 days. The verdict is now set for July 5th.
Meanwhile, i had to walk through ever increasing amounts of police surrounding Cassazione each day. On the second day i was almost arrested by DIGOS for wearing a Diaz t-shirt which they said was a 'Form of protest' and that i 'would be arrested if i attempted to walk in'. I said it was my right as a plaintiff and victim to walk in and he could not stop me. I declared that we were winning the Diaz case so why mount a protest? With that, he demanded ID and six DIGOS closed in around me. After frantic calling to my lawyers inside, i was rescued and the DIGOS beat a retreat. By Thursday, they were saying sorry.
However, Rome's state police are on high alert and especially for the month of July. The italian government are determined that tourists are not disturbed by italians protesting about the collapse of the economy. July is always the most profitable for Rome citizens.
Because the Diaz has been delayed to July 5th, it will come very close to the Cassazione verdict on July 13th concerning the 10 protesters who are facing miltary charges of devastation and looting which are exempt from statute of limitations.
They are:
Francesco Puglisi, Vincenzo Vecchi, Marina Cugnaschi, Alberto Funaro, Carlo Arculeo, Luca Finotti, Antonino Valguarnera, Carlo Cuccomarino, Dario Ursino, and Ines Morasca, will pay the price -- literally -- for all the damage that was done in Genoa. As Heidi Giuliani, the mother of Carlo, the young man killed in Genoa in 2001, has commented, "this is not a sentence, it is revenge".
As of June 20th, the 10 x 100 campaign was launched by left wing social centres in Rome and they have organised a petition by tonight of over 10,000 signatures. the website gives all the details of the 10 protesters and what they are charged with.
All i will say is that it seems there is one law for the police in italy and one law for the protesters and democratic rights to protest are threatened and destroyed. Furthermore, it will be the same Diaz fascist police who will be in charge of the public order crackdown which is expected this summer.
The Diaz case has struggled through Berlusconi changing the Statute of limitations law to save the Diaz police whilst using special G8 military security laws against protesters so that an old man is sent to jail for stealing a bottle of water for eight years whilst the commander of Diaz gets to walk scott free for committing the bloody Diaz raid.
Diaz and the 10 X 100 campaign will reach a powerful head on July 5th and 13th. It is the centrepiece leftwing campaign apart from article 18 opposition by the unions, for this summer.
The Genoa G8 summit left a deep scare that remains unclosed, The victims of Diaz will never get full justice and are still waiting for their full compensation 11 years after the raid.
If you want to find out more and maybe sign the petition. check www.10x100.it
Rome 29 June: Currently i am in Genova after beating a retreat from the intense Saharan heat in Rome. I have been here a month in Italy awaiting the delayed verdict of the Armando Diaz school raid which was mounted during the night of July 21st/22nd 2001 during the Genoa G8.
The verdict was supposed to been on the 15th of June and delivered by the Corti of Cassazione, the supreme court of appeal. 26 commanders and men are on trial for the mexican butchers shop raid that almost killed and injured many people and some are responsible for shipping many of the injured to the Bolzaneto detention centre where they were tortured.
Many have been promoted for what they did at Diaz and this includes Francesco Gratteri who has recently been promoted to deputy chief of police of italy by Manganelli.
The best case scenario is that 15 commanders will be found guilty and sent to jail for the sentence they were given on May 18th 2010. Another 10 will be stripped of uniform and banned from serving for five years (probably forever). The convictions will be based on the charges of 'Aggrevated Arrest' and forgery. these are the only two charges that survive inside italy's statute of limitations.
Worst case scenario, they are aquitted or a re-trial will be ordered which will only produce paper convictions not worth the paper they are written on.
Other charges (which they were found guilty) of planting military weapons ( anti-terrorist commanders planted two molotov cocktails at Diaz), GBH, False arrest and other serious crimes are now outside statute of limitations.
I was the only Diaz victim to attend the week long hearings at Cassazione. The size of this court makes the old bailey seem small. I wanted to see and understand how Cassazione works since most people never do. Even tourists are banned and cameras restricted. Only plaintiffs and their lawyers are allowed entry. I also wanted to see the Diaz navigate the final leg to ultimate judgement, to see the police lawyers delay as much as possible (and they succeeded in disrupting the court proceedings) and to see the Cassazione judges for myself.
Cassazione only exists as a final appeal stage to consider process, law and legal principles. Not the evidence. The police lawyers wasted much of the courts time with rehashing old arguments they had used in the Genoa courts and attempting to talk about the evidence. They had of course, succeeded in reducing the severity of the charges and sentence by delaying the Genoa judges as much as possible. They tried the same thing in Cassazione and hit a brick wall. Cassazione does not like to have its time wasted.
The only serious moment was when they challenged the Chief Prosecutor of Genoa - Gaetano Saya - and attempted to use a ECHR ruling from Moldova but this was dismissed by the court. Next they attempted to get Troiani, the cop who transported the molotovs into Diaz, aquitted. If they had succeeded, the command chain and entire case would of collapsed. They failed. Next, they made a statement stating that their clients were entirely innocent of all charges and that it was Canterini and the 7th mobile responsible for everything. Finally, the police lawyers challenged the 'Aggrevated Arrest' charge with the hope of reducing the final sentence to a suspended sentence for forgery.
We shall see in 90 days how the Corti of Cassazione has reasoned everything presented to them. My view is that the police lawyers have massively failed their clients but on the other hand the commanders are so damned as almost caught in the act and they are dealing with a Diaz case that has 500% evidence against them.
Biondi, the most senior police lawyer, to his own suprise (which he may come to regret) managed to cause a delay (by talking too long and challenging the most senior Cassazione president judge) to the Diaz verdict by 20 days. The verdict is now set for July 5th.
Meanwhile, i had to walk through ever increasing amounts of police surrounding Cassazione each day. On the second day i was almost arrested by DIGOS for wearing a Diaz t-shirt which they said was a 'Form of protest' and that i 'would be arrested if i attempted to walk in'. I said it was my right as a plaintiff and victim to walk in and he could not stop me. I declared that we were winning the Diaz case so why mount a protest? With that, he demanded ID and six DIGOS closed in around me. After frantic calling to my lawyers inside, i was rescued and the DIGOS beat a retreat. By Thursday, they were saying sorry.
However, Rome's state police are on high alert and especially for the month of July. The italian government are determined that tourists are not disturbed by italians protesting about the collapse of the economy. July is always the most profitable for Rome citizens.
Because the Diaz has been delayed to July 5th, it will come very close to the Cassazione verdict on July 13th concerning the 10 protesters who are facing miltary charges of devastation and looting which are exempt from statute of limitations.
They are:
Francesco Puglisi, Vincenzo Vecchi, Marina Cugnaschi, Alberto Funaro, Carlo Arculeo, Luca Finotti, Antonino Valguarnera, Carlo Cuccomarino, Dario Ursino, and Ines Morasca, will pay the price -- literally -- for all the damage that was done in Genoa. As Heidi Giuliani, the mother of Carlo, the young man killed in Genoa in 2001, has commented, "this is not a sentence, it is revenge".
As of June 20th, the 10 x 100 campaign was launched by left wing social centres in Rome and they have organised a petition by tonight of over 10,000 signatures. the website gives all the details of the 10 protesters and what they are charged with.
All i will say is that it seems there is one law for the police in italy and one law for the protesters and democratic rights to protest are threatened and destroyed. Furthermore, it will be the same Diaz fascist police who will be in charge of the public order crackdown which is expected this summer.
The Diaz case has struggled through Berlusconi changing the Statute of limitations law to save the Diaz police whilst using special G8 military security laws against protesters so that an old man is sent to jail for stealing a bottle of water for eight years whilst the commander of Diaz gets to walk scott free for committing the bloody Diaz raid.
Diaz and the 10 X 100 campaign will reach a powerful head on July 5th and 13th. It is the centrepiece leftwing campaign apart from article 18 opposition by the unions, for this summer.
The Genoa G8 summit left a deep scare that remains unclosed, The victims of Diaz will never get full justice and are still waiting for their full compensation 11 years after the raid.
If you want to find out more and maybe sign the petition. check www.10x100.it
