translation of notes from a meeting held with Genoa Legal Forum lawyers, in Berlin, June 28, 2003

There are investigations underway against the police and Carabinieri involved in the Diaz School raid, as well as against the activists arrested there. Both sets of investigations must be closed by the end of July, because of law saying that in Italy, investigations have to be finished two years after the identification of a subject. (If no subject is identified at the time of a crime, the investigation-period starts when the suspect is identified.) After the investigation is over, charges can be pressed.

The prosecutor is investigating activists on charges of possession of arms, resistance, and participation in a criminal association. The charges of weapons possession have been dropped when it became clear that the police had falsified evidence (more information about this can be supplied in German.) Judge Anna Ivaldi has also dropped all charges of violent resistance during the raid. The charges of criminal association should be dropped soon. The investigations are now focusing on identifying Diaz-School activists who were identified in video footage or photographs of demonstrations. We do not have more information on this at present. However, we can assume that, if people from the Diaz School had been identified in photographs committing crimes during demonstrations, it would be of great interest to the police and we probably would have heard about it.

Investigations against police and Carabinieri: the prosecutor is still hearing witnesses, and then these investigations will also be closed. It looks as though the prosecutor's offive will press charges, primarily against the leaders of the police groups involved in the raid, for failure to prevent the crimes committed by their subordinates. There will also be charges pressed against the police officers who have been identified, for causing bodily harm, giving false statements, wrongful accusation, and unlawful detention in the police barracks. There is also an investigation against a police officer who drove past the school in the late afternoon, before the school was attacked (this was given as the justification for the raid. Witnesses to this should come forward!)

The Diaz-School raid brings up several political conflicts among the different police units assigned: the SCO (Servicio Centrale Operativo), the Riparto Mobile Anti Somoza 7 Nucleo (which went through special counter-insurgency trainings before Genoa), the anti-Mafia units of the police, and four officers from the DIGOS. The different police units are affiliated with different political parties. There is a committee of victims and their parents, which demands that the investigation be made.

There are also investigations against the police involved in the raid on the Pascoli School (across the street from the Diaz School) on charges of causing bodily harm, illegal search, and theft. For this, as well, witnesses are asked to step forward!

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Investigations against the leader of the department about what happened in the Bolzaneto police barracks will also end this summer. The unit leaders from the Carabinieri, police, and Guardia di Finanzia are all accused of causing bodily harm and abuse, as are the police officers and personnel who have been identified.

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Regarding the other investigations for "participation in an international criminal association called the 'Black Bloc,'" there were altogether about 350 arrests in Genoa during the protests, and at least 50 more afterward. It is important to make the distinction between arrests that occurred before 2 o'clock in the afternoon on Satruday, and arrests that occurred afterwards. On Saturday, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, there was a change in which police units were responsible for the city. Until that point, about 120 people had been arrested, and charged with things like resistance, property damage, and possession of illicit weapons. Most of these arrested people are Italians. After Saturday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the mass arrests began. (The first mass arrest was the arrest of 23 people of the Italian union COBAS, who were charged with rioting and criminal association.)

From this point on, people are charged with anti-mafia charges such as devastation and looting, and overall with "participation in a criminal association called the 'Black Bloc,' whose goal is organizing devastation."

The High Court has also made a judgement on the question of remand, stating that membership in the 'Black Bloc' can even be proven by possession of black clothes, having participated in a group during a demonstration, and a few other indications. Even if a person is not convicted of having participated in the Black Bloc, they can still be charged with supporting the black block by having black clothes. The Carabinieri have gathered 1,900 pages of material about the 'Black Bloc' construction. They say that it is an internationally organized group, which has also operated in other summits and communicates via the Internet. The Carabinieri wants to convince the prosecutor's office of the existence of the 'Black Bloc' and condemn them to sentences of up to 15 years (a sentence which can be raised if the "criminal association" is considered to be sufficiently large). <Even if conspiracy with a criminal association cannot be proven, the prosecutor may charge activists with giving "mental support" to the Black Bloc instead.> The charge of devastation also has a penalty of 8-15 years; however, actual responsibility for the act of devastation must be proven.

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After the G8 summit, the police have engaged in extensive investigations against activists. The first obvious result of these investigations was the arrest of 23 people (21 Italians, 1 Swiss, and 1 Greek) on December 4, 2002. <An American were also taken into custody and charged with immigration violations. The American was placed in an immigrant detention center and later deported to the USA; afterwards, his deportation was declared illegitimate.> The other 23 were charged with devastation and looting. (In February 2002, there had already been a raid against several targets, including offices of SinCOBAS and the Association of Democratic Jurists, as well as against Social Centres said to be affiliated with Indymedia Italy. In the Indymedia raids, video footage was siezed.) Among those arrested were three people who were accused of attempted murder in Piazza Alimonda (where Carlo Giuliani was killed). Claiming that there was danger they would flee prosecution, the court has consistently refused their requests for release from pre-trial detention. One person, Francesco Puglisi ("Jimmy," who is charged with property destruction, looting, theft, and assaulting a police officer) is still in prison, and four more -- Maria Cugnaschi, charged with being the leader of a black-bloc cell; Vincenzo Vecchi, charged with participation in the Black Bloc; Alberto Funaro, charged with property destruction and looting; and Carlo Cuccomarino, charged with having broken windows -- are under house arrest. The others are required to report to the police regularly.

In a press conference the day after the arrests, the DIGOS announced that 400 more people had been identified from video footage, but there has been no new information about this. The police investigation force has passed on photos and videos to foreign police for further identification; there may also be preliminary investigations abroad.

The Genoa trials have already begun and some people have already been sentenced. The "simpler" cases have been tried first. The trials resulting in condemnations have resulted in relatively heavy sentences (1 year and 6 months, 1 year and 8 months; however, neither of them has yet been sent to prison). An Irish activist's charges of heavy resistance was dropped, and the police are apparently accused of having made false statements in this case.

The defense attorneys do not yet have access to the prosecutors' evidence, but after the investigations are ended, the prosecutor's office will make a final report which, a few days later, is sent to the lawyers involved (anyway, it should be this way!) Then, there is a time for objections, in which lawyers can give new evidence. The court goes on vacation at the beginning of October, and so until this point not much will happen. In addition, charges may not be pressed immediately. Theoretically, the prosecutor's office has up to 15 years to make a trial.

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You can make complaints and request payment for damages in two ways:

1. Compensation for unjustified imprisonment. This request can be made via
the Appeals Court. The state must make a payment to compensate you, but
the amount is up to the court's discretion. Probably, even the
high-profile cases will not exceed 3,000 Ä. Compensation can only be paid
after all charges against the activists have been dropped. Complaints can
also be made for loss of wages due to false imprisonment, but you must
furnish proof.

2. Payment of damages for bodily injury and abuse. This complaint can
also be made in conjunction with pressing criminal charges against the
police. The plaintiff is then also a witness in the criminal trial. For
damages to be collected, you need proof: medical certificates, reports,
and witness statements. The amount of the money paid depends on the kind
of injury and is calculated according to tables. Compensation can also be
paid for injuries resulting in an inability to work; it is also necessary
to prove this. Those concerned should be able to certify the consequences
of the injuries. If you are involved in a criminal trial and a civil
trial, you have to make a separate request for financial assistance for
each separate trial.

If the police officers who have charges against them from the Diaz School
and Bolzaneto are condemned, then it is considered a sure thing that
damages will be paid. <It may be necessary for the person who makes the
complaint to already have been acquitted of all charges.> Damages may
also be paid to activists who were abused during the demonstrations. In
this case, the activist must make a civil suit against an unknown
authority (unless the police officer in question can be identified.)

For the trials, it is possible to request financial assistance for court
costs. The grant is calculated according to the defendant's income. The
defendant's yearly income may not be over 9,002 Ä, <including 1,000 Ä per
family member.> It is not necessary to pay these court costs back, if
financial assistance is awarded. However, if your income changes during
the trial, you must clearly communicate this.

Civil trials (for payment of damages) in Italy usually take a very long
time, usually 3-4 years at least.

The Genoa prosecutors still have 12 crates of possessions siezed during
the Diaz school raid. Activists can make public requests for these
possessions to be returned; the articles must be clearly described so that
they are identifiable.

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Entry bans:

Nearly all the foreigners who were arrested received five-year entry bans.
All European-Union citizens who made complaints against this entry ban
won their complaint and had the ban revoked, as long as they made the
appeal in time. This is due to a procedural error: the responsible
authorities forgot to consult the Committee for National Security to make
the entry bans. It is only legal to make this entry ban without
consulting the Committee for National Security for non-EU citizens.
However, Non-EU citizens who made their complaints in time also won their
appeals. If people with entry bans do enter the country and have their ID
papers checked, they will not be arrested. They are only requested to
leave the country within five days. Nevertheless, all those who plan a
journey to Italy should contact an Italian lawyer, because even some of
those people who have won their appeals, did not have the records against
them deleted in the Schengen Information System (SIS records are only
deleted upon request.) It is also better not to enter via Switzerland,
since Switzerland is considered a "foreign country" to the EU.

for more information, contact inchiesta-g8@indymedia.org

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