Policemen guilty of 2001 Genoa summit abuses

15 of them have been sentenced to penalties that range to a maximum of 5 years of jail for the chief of the prision brigade that was in charge when most of the abuses happened. 30 others have been acquitted.

In that infamous day of the 2001 Genoa G8 summit, anti-riot police massively and indiscriminately arrested activists of all sorts, beating them brutally, causing one dead and comitting other abuses such as focing women to strip in front of male agents.

But judicial severity has been much harsher for activists, some of which have been sentenced (in a separate trial) to 11 years in jail.

There is still another trial under way against 29 policemen accused of abuses in a separate detention center.

(Source: Al Jazeera).

The Comitee Truth and Justice for Genoa asks in regard to this trial: is Italy still a democracy? They think the penalties are way too soft:

What is evidenced and scares is the consideration that have in our country the violations of fundamental rights: a minor crime destined to prescription in tribunals, totally irrelevant for politicians, that in all these years have been unable to pass a law against torture and fire the public servants (in some cases they have even been promoted!) involved in the processes for the Genoa G8 meeting. In Bolzanetto [the jail near Genoa] unacceptable abuses were comitted. Mistreatment to detainees is totally incompatible with democracy. In these years a climate of impunity has been promoted. We ask to the political forces and the Parliament: is Italy still a democracy?