Cops 'enjoyed selves' with Cucchi (5)

(ANSA) - Rome, March 20 - A witness in the manslaughter trial of five Carabinieri in the death of Rome draughtsman Stefano Cucchi told the court Tuesday that Cucchi told him in detention that the cops had "enjoyed themselves with him". Luigi Lainà said he spoke to Cucchi at the medical centre in Rome's Regina Coeli Prison on the night of October 16-17 2009.
    "Stefano told me that the Carabinieri 'enjoyed themselves' with him. He was so swollen he looked like bag-pipes, he should not have been taken to jail in that condition," said Lainà.
    "Stefano told me two plain-clothes Carabinieri beat him in the first barracks he was taken to...they wanted to make him talk, they wanted to know where the drugs had come from but he didn't talk, he didn't want to be a snitch." The trial of the five Carabinieri started on October 13.
    Cucchi died in a custodial hospital wing on the night between October 22 and 23, 2009, a week after he was picked up on minor drug charges.
    His body showed signs he had sustained a brutal beating at some point during his detention, and an autopsy revealed he was severely dehydrated, had two broken vertebrae and internal organ damage.
    Cucchi's parents said he was in perfectly good health the day he was arrested, but appeared at a court hearing the next day with black eyes and his face covered with bruises.
    Cucchi's sisteri Ilaria, who has been campaigning tirelessly for justice for her brother, said "now the moment of truth has arrived".
    A new witness said last year that Cucchi"couldn't stand up" in his cell after his alleged beating.
    On July 10 a Rome judge indicted the five Carabinieri police over Cucchi's death in a custodial wing of a Rome hospital.
    Three of the Carabinieri are accused of involuntary manslaughter.
    They allegedly beat the young draughtsman after his arrest on October 15, 2009.
    The other two are accused of calumny and making false declarations.
    Cucchi's sister Ilaria hailed the indictments, saying "finally those responsible for the death of my brother, the same people who for eight years his behind their uniforms, will go to trial and will be called to answer for what they did".