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Genoa Diaz Court Case - Quick Update - Saturday

imc'ista | 26.06.2004 19:03 | Anti-militarism | Globalisation | Repression | London

Quick update from on the ground in Genoa, Italy:

The police have tried to get the court case suspended on two counts.

Firstly the person (policeman?) who found the planted molotovs (petrol bombs) has been in what has been called a suspicious car crash and is in a coma (it's unclear if this is supposed to be the person who 'found' the molotovs inside the diaz school, the person who confessed to planting them, or the police officer who said he had found the two specific wine bottles on the street earlier, handed them in, but they disappeared...)

Also there was a move to request some kind of judicial review of one of the laws that the police are charged under.

The judiciary in charge however ordered the proceedings to continue.

The preliminary hearing began at around 9.30 a.m. The 29 police and officers are accused of a whole host of various offences including bodily harm, lying and slander in the inquiry into the brutal raid on the the night of July 21, 2001 at Diaz School, and the Genoa Social Forum / indymedia headquarters on the opposite side of the street. Of the 93 activists who were in the building that night, as many as 62 were taken to hospital for treatment following the attack by police, many carried out on stretchers and many with serious head injuries.

Some of the officers are very senior indeed and include Francesco Gratteri, former SCO head and current anti-terrorism chief, Gilberto Caldarozzi, second to Gratteri at the SCO and Gianni Luperi, head of UCIGOS.

Most of those arrested that night were taken to Bolzaneto detention centre where they were subjected to more beatings and torture - the trials of the police accused of these crimes will follow later in the year.

There are many international media present, including correspondants from the uk papers and TV networks, including the BBC.

More tomorrow.

See Pre-Trial Feature:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/06/293115.html

Also see Indymedia Italy:
 http://italy.indymedia.org

imc'ista

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