G8 prison sentence sought for former Italy police chief

| Thu, 07/02/2009 - 03:39

Prosecutors on Wednesday asked a Genoa court for a prison sentence for Italy's former police chief for allegedly pressuring a witness to commit perjury in a trial over police brutality at the Group of Eight summit in 2001.

Public prosecutor Enrico Zucca called for two years in prison for the former police chief, Gianni De Gennaro, and 16 months for the former head of the Genoa branch of Digos security police, Spartaco Mortola.

Both men are charged with persuading the city's top policeman at the time, Francesco Colucci, to change his testimony about a night raid on the Diaz school, which was being used by protestors as sleeping quarters.

In the past Colucci has denied being pressured to give false testimony, saying he always told the truth in court.

He faces a separate trial for perjury.

Three people were left comatose and 26 had to be taken to hospital in the night raid, which gained headlines worldwide.

Controversy raged in November last year after a verdict acquitted 16 defendants including the three top officers and sentenced 13 lower-ranked officers to terms ranging from one month to four years - terms they will never serve because of an intervening amnesty.

The officers convicted were judged to have acted on their own without instructions from their superiors.

The verdict provoked outrage among victims of the raid, campaigners, human rights groups and leftwing politicians but centre-right MPs praised judges for restoring the reputation of the police and for refusing to bow to pressure.

More than 300,000 demonstrators converged on Genoa for the G8 summit in July 2001.

During two days of mayhem, one protestor was shot dead while attacking a Carabinieri policeman, shops and businesses were ransacked and hundreds of people injured in clashes between police and demonstrators.

In a separate trial into brutality against protestors held at a police detention centre in the Bolzaneto area, 15 of 45 officials standing trial were convicted in a sentence handed down last July.

As in the Diaz case, none of those convicted will serve time because of the statute of limitations.

In total, 252 demonstrators had said they were spat at, verbally and physically humiliated or threatened with rape while being held at the centre.

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