In the afternoon of May 5th a sense of indignation took over Genoa and the rest of Italy, as the Italian judge Elena Daloisio decided to close the enquire against Mario Placanica, the policeman of the paramilitary police force (Carabinieri) who shot Carlo Giuliani - the young protester at the G8 summit of Genoa 2001. The official reasons why this murder won't be prosecuted are because the policeman was allegedly defending himself, and also, under the article 53 of the Italian criminal code, this is a case of "legitimate use of weapons". This will possibly constitute a dangerous legal escape for any member of the security forces that in future similar situations may commit "legalised" murder because of "acting on duty". The closure of the case will not only put an end to the investigation around the murder of Giuliani but it will also mean that the responsibilities of those who were in charge of public order in Piazza Alimonda will be ignored. At the same time, it could also become a touchstone to the remaining open cases against those responsible for the repression, illegal detentions, beatings and torture that took place during and after the anti-G8 demonstrations of Genoa 2001.
After the Carabinieri's acquittal his lawyer happily stated that "Placanica will go on working as a good policeman", noting that "none of the officers of the police forces involved in this enquiry have been found guilty or condemned", even though they have been accused of lying in court or have repeatedly been trying to avoid giving testimony in front of a judge. Meanwhile Heidi Giuliani, Carlo's mother, stated that "It is difficult for us to comment upon this sentence right now. Although we have always expected something like this to happen it still hurts very much. I'd like to say that we are not scared of the truth, although others evidently are". The Genoa Social Forum has called for videos, photos and testimonies whilst stating that "Genoa will not stop here". Different social initiatives in Italy have declared themselves against this unacceptable legal decision, and an international day of protest against the ruling has been called on Saturday 10 May.
• Read entire feature from IMC-Global.
• New photographic evidence of Carlo's murder from Sherwood Comunicazione.
• Read eyewitness account of Giuliani's murder from the Wombles website.
More info: Indymedia-Italy
