Constitutional Court 'attacked' over lifer ruling-Lattanzi

(ANSA) - Naples, October 25 - Constitutional Court President Giorgio Lattanzi said Friday that the criticism the court has come under over a controversial decision on people serving life sentences had reached unacceptable levels. On Wednesday the court said that a failure by mafia lifers to turn state's evidence should not disallow furloughs and bonus permits. "Criticism is sacrosanct and healthy, even when it is directed at the Constitutional Court," Lattanzi said in Naples.
    "But criticism is one thing, an attack is another.
    "I've heard it said that the lifer sentence was disgusting and this is unacceptable". League leader and former interior minister Matteo Salvini called the decision disgusting. But he was not alone in criticising it. Centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola Zingaretti said "it's a bit of a bizarre sentence, I don't feel in line with what it laid down".
    Longtime anti-mafia prosecutor Sebastiano Ardita said the sentence spelled a risk that Cosa Nostra might reorganise, "if the exception becomes the rule".
    Earlier this month the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday ruled that Italy must reform its law on life imprisonment which states that inmates cannot have time off unless they collaborate with justice.