(ANSA) - Rome, January 22 - A Rome judge on Tuesday found
the heads of the Parma-based Bonatti oil engineering company
guilty in the 2015 kidnapping of four technicians in Libya, two
of whom later died in a shoot-out.
The preliminary hearings judge also approved a plea bargain
by Bonatti's former Libya chief.
The judge sentenced Bonatti Chairman Paolo Ghirelli and
directors Dino Martinazzoli and Paolo Cardano to a suspended
jail term of one year and 10 months each.
Another director, Giovanni Di Vicenzo, was indicted while
former Libya head Dennis Morson's request for a plea bargain of
one year and 10 months was accepted.
All five men were accused of culpable complicity in culpable
crimes.
Last March three Libyan ISIS militants were arrested in Libya
for kidnapping the four Bonatti workers, and confessed.
Fausto Piano, Salvatore Failla, Filippo Calcagno and Gino
Pollicardo were kidnapped in Sabratha on July 19 2015.
Piano and Failla died on March 3 2016 during a firefight
while they were being moved by their captors.
Calcagno and Pollicardo were freed.
"I knew we were in the hands of ISIS," said Pollicardo after
the three arrests.
"The network (of kidnappers) is probably wider," he said.
The three are accused of kidnapping with a terrorist aim
aggravated by the deaths of two hostages.
The three are already in jail in Tripoli on other charges.
They are Youssef Aldauody, the driver of the vehicle carrying
the Italians when they were abducted, and Ahmed Dhawadi and
Ahmad Elsharo.
They have reportedly confessed that the four were taken
hostage to get a ransom to fund the terror group.
The trio confirmed that no ransom was paid for the Italians.
Another 10 people allegedly took part in the abductions, all
of whom died in the firefight.
Bonatti are an oil and gas international general contractor
with 70 years of experience in the service of the oil and gas
and power industries, according to their website.
photo: Failla (L) and Piano, the two Bonatti workers killed
Bonatti execs guilty in Libya kidnap
Four technicians kidnapped in 2015, 2 died in later firefight