2008-05-28
Dear friends,
During the month of July, most probably on 21st or 22nd, the sentence
concluding the Bolzaneto trial should be announced.
The public prosecutors are asking to sentence 44 people that include
(high-ranking) officials and officers from the Police Force, from the
Carabinieri (military police), from the prison guard service, doctors
and nurses, all accused of acts of violence inflicted on those arrested
or simply detained, from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd July 2001 in the
barracks at Genova Bolzaneto.
Since the specific crime of torture is not featured in our criminal
code, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged the above with offences
ranging from abuse of office, brutality, beating, grievous bodily harm,
insults, abuse of authority, threats, falsehood, to failure to provide
medical referral or medical assistance, amounting to a total of
seventy-six years, four months and twenty days’ imprisonment. None of
the accused is likely to spend even a day in prison, given that most of
the crimes will have lapsed (according to the statute of limitations) by
2009.
We will, however, have achieved something, even if minimal, if the Court
sentences those responsible and obtains compensation for the plaintiffs
for the damage suffered, both physical and moral.
For the occasion of the sentence the Truth & Justice Committee for Genoa
is organizing a series of initiatives and accommodation for all those
coming to Genova. The Mayor of Genova, Ms Marta Vincenzi, has offered to
provide hospitality, at the expense of the local council, for the
plaintiffs who will be coming to Genova for the sentence and, for this
reason, we need to know who is intending to come.
Via your e-mail address and our site we will be contacting you to inform
you about the initiatives that the committee is organizing for the event
and to provide all other essential information.
Best wishes,
Enrica Bartesaghi
President of the Truth & Justice Committee for Genoa