A Milan court of appeals on
Thursday explained why it upheld the acquittal of two men gave a
Roman salute, finding it was unclear whether their gesture
"crossed the boundary of commemoration" into the realm of
spreading Fascist ideology.
The latter is a crime in post-World War II Italy.
The acquittal was handed down September 21, and the court
today released its motivation for the verdict.
A preliminary hearings judge in June 2015 acquitted
defendants Marco Clemente and Matteo Ardolino, both members of
extreme-right group Casapound, of intending to spread Fascist
ideology during an April, 2014 commemoration for three slain
fellow believers: World War II militant Carlo Borsani, who was
executed in 1945; student Sergio Ramelli, a youth group member
of the neofascist MSI party who was beaten to death by an
extreme-left group in 1975; and 49-year-old Enrico Pedenovi, an
MSI provincial councillor who was shot dead by an extreme-left
commando in 1976.
The prosecution had requested six months in prison for both
defendants, with ANPI resistance fighters association a civil
plaintiff in the case.
It argued the commemoration in itself was "intrinsic" to
the defendants' desire to spread Fascist ideology, but the court
begged to differ.
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