Eight Carabinieri including
high-ranking officers were indicted Tuesday for alleged
cover-ups of the truth in the police brutality death of Rome
draughtsman Stefano Cucchi in 2009.
This is the fourth trial stemming from Cucchi's death.
In the main one, a Carabiniere has turned informant and told
the court that colleagues beat Cucchi so badly he couldn't stand
up.
In this fourth trial, the chain of command that spawned fake
reports on the draughtsman's health after his arrest on a minor
drugs possession charge will be exposed, prosecutors said.
The first hearing is set for November 2.
Among those sent to trial are retired general Alessandro
Casarsa, former commander of the Corazzieri and at the time head
of the Rome Group.
The other defendants are: Colonel Lorenzo Sabatino, former
head of the Rome operational centre, accused of failure to
report a crime; Francesco Cavallo, at the time lieutenant
colonel and office head for the Rome Group; Luciano Soligo,
former commander of the Montesacro company; Massimiliano Colombo
Labriola, former commander of the Tor Sapienza station;
Francesco Di Sano, at the time serving at Tor Sapienza; Tiziano
Testarmata, former commander of the fourth section of the
investigative centre; and Carabiniere Luca De Cianni.
Cucchi's sister Ilaria, who has fought tirelessly for the
truth to emerge, said "this is a historic moment, extremely
significant.
"It also stemmed from this person, it's down to (Carabiniere)
Riccardo Casamassima that we've got here.
"Ten years ago, while we were dragging ourselves through
phony trials, we could not even imagine what was going on behind
our backs and on our backs.
"Today for that reason, some people will be forced to take
responsibility in a courtroom."
Cucchi would probably not have died without the bone
fractures inflicted on him by the alleged police beating, a
court-appointed expert witness last month told the trial in
which a Carabiniere defendant turned prosecution witness has
accused three fellow Carabinieri of beating Cucchi so severely
that he died of his injuries.
In the initial trial, a Carabiniere defendant turned
prosecution witness has accused three fellow Carabinieri of
beating Cucchi so severely that he died of his injuries.
In the fresh trial, Italian ministries and Cucchi's family
have filed to be civil plaintiffs, as well as Casamassima,
prison guards, the military trade union and activist group
Cittadinanzattiva.
On May 15 Casamassima was accused of drug pushing.
Casamassima, who has accused other Carabinieri of covering up
the Cucchi beating, has been accused by an unnamed informant.
Casamassima said a search of his home did not turn up any
drugs, as erroneously reported in the press.
"No drugs were found," he said.
"This is the umpteenth attempt to delegitimise and intimidate
me," he said.
Casamamassima is one of the key witnesses in the high-profile
case, along with fellow cop Francesco Tedesco, the policeman
who has become a witness for the prosecution in the first trial.
Last month Tedesco told the court about the alleged
brutality that allegedly caused the death in custody of Cucchi.
For several years the case looked set to end without anyone
being brought to justice for Cucchi's death, allegedly because
of the cover-ups.
But a breakthrough came when Tedesco, one of five Carabinieri
on trial in relation to Cucchi's death, accused two
others of the beating that allegedly caused it.
"I say sorry to the Cucchi family and the penitentiary police
officers who were defendants in the first trial (into the
case)," Francesco Tedesco told a Rome court.
"The last few years have been an insurmountable wall for me".
Tedesco told the court that, after refusing to have his
fingerprints taken, Cucchi was slapped hard by another
defendant, Alessio Di Bernardo.
He said that Cucchi fell to the floor and hit his head.
Tedesco said that another defendant, Raffaele D'Alessandro,
then kicked Cucchi in the face.
"It was not easy to report my colleagues," Tedesco said.
"The first person whom I told what happened was my lawyer. I
hadn't told anyone in my life for 10 years...
"To say I was scared is not enough. I was literally
terrorised.
"I was alone against a sort of wall. I panicked when I
realized that my service notes had vanished".
He said that a superior, Marshall Roberto Mandolini, told him
that "you have to follow the line of the force if you want to
continue to be a Carabiniere".
"I sensed a threat in his words," Tedesco said.
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