On Wednesday, 17 January 2007, it emerged that important evidence against the police officers who raided the Diaz school has been 'mislaid' by the police. The evidence concerned is two 'Molotov cocktails' which were supposedly found during the raid back in 2001, and were then used by police to justify the raid. It later transpired that they had in fact been planted in the Diaz building by police. The two bottles should have been produced in court yesterday during the questioning of police officer Donnini, who was in charge of the unit that transported the bottles.
On Thursday the 19th, however, Judge Barroni said the trial will continue with other evidence as the search for the missing evidence progresses [See missing Molotovs update]. All other charges against the various high-ranking police officers still stand.
Links: Witnesses Give Evidence in Genoa Diaz Trial | G8: Genoa: Police on Trial for Brutal Diaz Raid | Police, Lies, and Video Tape | UK IMC Genova Topicpage
Indymedia journalist Mark Covell, and likewise many other plaintiffs, were shocked at the news and are suspicious that such evidence could disappear just at the moment when the Diaz trial is about to reach the main part of the case. The Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" and other Italian media have covered the disappearance of the evidence [see report] and there were concerns as to how this would impact the trial itself.
The two 'Molotov cocktail' bottles started their journey to infamy back in 2001 when they were found by the side of the street in the centre of Genoa during the violent confrontations of the G8 protests.
Details of the original find emerged in a service report about the G8 events dated 8 August 2001. This was written by the Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Pasquale Guaglione following a request for documentation by the parliamentary committee set up to investigate the G8 events. The report mentions the discovery of 'two Molotov cocktails made from wine bottles, filled with inflammable liquid, sealed and with a wick'.
Furthermore, on 7 May 2002, the Genoa police department received a request regarding the Molotov cocktails found on that afternoon, noting that they had not been handed over to magistrates, nor had charges been filed in their regard against an unknown perpetrator. At this point they could not be found.
Later statements by Guaglione and Piccolotti contained details that confirmed that the two petrol bombs allegedly found during the Diaz raid were, in fact, the same ones that been been found in the street, in another part of town, earlier in the day. They had originally been taken to a police station, but then later collected, taken away, and then reappeared after the brutal night time raid on the Diaz school.
