(ANSA) - Milan, October 20 - 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.
Two acquitted of Fascist propaganda
Clemente, Ardolino made Roman salute at commemoration