Rights court clears Italy over death of G8 demonstrator
lotek | 25.03.2011 22:56 | Globalisation | History | Repression
The European Court of Human Rights Thursday cleared Italy of any
responsibility for
the death of a demonstrator during the G8 summit in Genoa in 2001.
Carlo Giuliani, 23, was shot in the head during violent clashes between
police and
militant radicals on July 20, 2001. A vehicle drove over his body after
the shooting.
The circumstances surrounding his death created an uproar and criticism of
the
government headed by Silvio Berlusconi.
The judges found that the policeman who fired the fatal shot had "acted in
the honest
belief that his own life and physical integrity and those of his
colleagues were in
danger from the attack to which they were being subjected".
It said that in the circumstances "the use of a potentially lethal means
of defence
such as the firing of shots had been justified".
It found that "it was clear from the evidence at the court's disposal that
the
carabiniere (policeman) had given a warning while holding his weapon in a
clearly
visible manner, and that he had fired the shots only when the attack had
not ceased".
Giuliani's family had turned to the Strasbourg court after no proceedings
were taken
against the police officer, arguing that the young man's right to life had
been
violated, he had been subject to inhuman treatment, and that there had
been excessive
use of force and bad organisation of the security forces.
In a preliminary judgement in 2009 the court criticised the Italian
authorities for
conducting an inadequate inquiry into the death while rejecting charges of
excessive
use of force and dysfunctions in the maintaining of law and order.
On Thursday they ruled by 13 votes to four there had been no violation of
the right
to life and by 10 votes to 7 rejected claims relating to the planning of
the summit
policing operation, the legal framework governing the use of force and the
adequacy
of the investigation.
Source:
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lotek