Ex-prosecutor Ingroia denies Aosta proposal is 'punishment'
Left-wing Civil Revolution leader left magistrature in late 2012
22 March, 14:54
(ANSA) - Rome, March 22 - Former Palermo prosecutor Antonio
Ingroia on Friday denied that a proposal by the magistrates'
self-governing body to post him to the northwestern city of
Aosta should he decide to return to the judiciary was ''a
punishment'' for entering politics.Ingroia founded the left-wing party Civil Revolution last December and ran as the party's candidate for premier in general elections in February.
The move, which saw the former anti-mafia prosecutor step down as head of a UN project on narcotraffic in Guatemala after just a few weeks, sparked controversy on grounds of alleged political bias within the magistrature.
But on Friday Ingroia defended the proposal by the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) to send him to the capital of the mountainous autonomous region, saying that it was merely ''applying the law, which is equal for everybody''.
Val d'Aosta is the only region in italy where the magistrate did not stand for elected office.
Earlier CSM vice president Michele Vietti said there was ''absolutely no punitive intention or desire for retaliation, but just the normal application of the rules''. In any event the CSM still has to take a final decision on the matter.
Meanwhile consumer asociation Codacons has said it will appeal to the Lazio regional administrative tribunal against the proposal on grounds that it goes ''against the most basic principles of the constitution''. ''Magistrates cannot switch from the world of justice to that of politics only then to return to the magistrature,'' said Codacons President Carlo Renzi. ''Information obtained during their activity as magistrates could be used for political ends while their impartiality would no longer be assured in the event of their return to the magistrature''.
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