Two Carabinieri were sentenced
to 12 years in jail Thursday for involuntary homicide in the
2009 death of Rome draughtsman Stefano Cucchi.
Alessio Di Bernardo and Raffaele D'Alessandro were also
convicted of abuse of authority.
A defendant who turned witness and gave evidence on police
brutality, Francesco Tedesco, was cleared of involuntary
homicide but got two and a half years for making false
statements.
"Stefano was killed, we knew that and we've been repeating it
for 10 years. Now perhaps he can rest in peace," said his sister
Ilaria, who has campaigned tirelessly for the truth in the case
in the face of police obstruction and, until recently, omerta.
A visibly moved Carabiniere officer, who was not among those
on trial, kissed Ilaria's hand after the verdict.
"I did it because justice has finally been done after all
these years," she said before escorting Cucchi's parents out of
the courtroom in Rebibbia prison.
Tedesco, the Carabiniere who turned informant and testified
against his colleagues, said "a nightmare has ended".
Far-right League party leader and former interior minister
Matteo Salvini said "if someone used violence, he was wrong and
will pay. This shows that drugs are always bad for you and, in
any case, I fight drugs in all piazzas".
He said he had nothing to apologise for after making that
comment, and would also not apologise to Ilaria Cucchi after
saying, last year, "Ilaria Cucchi disgusts me and should be
ashamed of herself" for allegedly trying to sully the
Carabinieri.
Carabinieri commander in chief General Giovanni Nistri said
"our pain today is even stronger than ever".
A Carabinieri warrant officer and former station commander,
Roberto Mandolini, was sentenced to three years and eight months
for making false statements and was acquitted of calumny after
the charge was downgraded to false testimony.
Carabiniere officer Vincenzo Nicolardi was acquitted of
calumny.
Earlier, a Rome appeals court on Friday acquitted one doctor
and timed out four others for negligent manslaughter in the 2009
death of 31-year-old Cucchi, who was picked up on a minor drugs
charge in October 2009 and died in hospital a week later.
The case, which has been dogged by alleged cover-ups that are
subject to a separate probe, was bogged down for years before a
Carabiniere turned informant.
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