Top cop chided officers who spoke out

(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - Ilaria Cucchi, sister of Roman draughtsman Stefano killed in 2009 allegedly after police brutality, on Thursday said Carabinieri Commander General Giovanni Nistri had criticised three officers who have spoken out to "break the wall of omertà" in the case when she and Nistri met Wednesday.
    "I would have expected from General Nistri I don't say an apology because that might have been too embarrassing for him, but certainly not 45 minutes of rambling against Casamassima, Rosati and Tedesco, the only three public officers who have decided to break the wall of omertà in my trial".
    Riccardo Casamassima and his wife Maria Rosati, both Carabinieri, enabled the trial to be reopened with their statements.
    They told judges they had suffered "consequences" for speaking out about the beating Stefano Cucchi received. Francesco Tedesco last week incriminated co-defendants Alessio Di Bernardo and Raffaele D'Alessandro for the beating that allegedly led to Cucchi's death. Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta, who was also at Wednesday's meeting with Ilaria Cucchi, on Thursday denied there had been any "rambling" from Nistri.
    "The general only stressed the importance of sticking to the rules," she said.