Two laptops belonging to Genoa Legal Forum lawyers defending demonstrators from the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa have been damaged after being seized by prosecutors, according to confidential sources.
The computers were seized at the order of Assistant Public Prosecutor Giancarlo Pellegrino on March 16, after public prosecutors Anna Canepa and Andrea Canciani filed libel charges regarding reports on the Italian Indymedia website.

Judicial sources have told the Legal Support team, Supportolegale, that the two computers were not working properly by the time they reached the Turin court. As they were working perfectly when they were seized, they appear to have been damaged on the trip from Genoa to Turin, where they were due to be inspected.

Tampering with sequestered material is a very serious act. It also contributes to the Genoese prosecution's attempts to intimidate the legal team that is working to help protestors over the July 2001 events. Some might even consider it an attempt to further delay work by the Genoa Legal Forum and the defense, as well as making it impossible for those whose computers were seized to carry out any regular work.