Lecce Defendants Update

The following news has just been received from Italy.....

Update Nottetempo

During the hearing held on September 28, six witnesses for the
prosecution made their deposition. The first was Maria Luisa
Lodeserto, the ex-director of Regina Pacis’ sister, who referred to
the fire attack carried out against her home in Lecce on August 19
2005. Then two police officers exposed the usual police reports
concerning the two-year investigation on the Lecce anarchists. Mr
Mondelli‘s deposition followed. He is the expert who ‘studied’
various written slogans and claims of attacks and confronted them
with written diaries seized in the houses of anarchists. In his
report Mr Mondelli had pointed out that it was impossible to
establish any certain connection between the written slogans and the
anarchists’ diaries because he had never seen the original versions
of the slogans but only photocopies. During his deposition, however,
he tried to maintain that his final examination was sufficient to
prove that the anarchists were the authors of the slogans and the
claims under investigation. In fact, he seemed to back up the public
prosecutors’ thesis and made his best not to answer appropriately to
the defence’s counter-examination. Not by chance, this expert used to
work as a police officer.

Finally Cesare Lodeserto, accompanied by two bodyguards, made a
three-hour deposition. During his delirium, this arrogant priest,
torturer of immigrants, said a series of lies and nonsense, which can
be summarised as follows:

-The revolts inside the camp Regina Pacis and the many attempts of
escape were stirred up by the anarchists demonstrating outside. The
priest contradicted himself by maintaining that in the last period
episodes of self-wounding, revolts and attempts of escape were
everyday events (whereas the anarchists’ protests outside the camp
were not).

-The main reason of the protests against the director of the camp was
the charge of embezzlement against the latter (!). He claimed
therefore that the anarchists had no reason to protest against him as
he was then cleared of the accusation. It is true that the court had
cleared him of that accusation, thanks to all his important
protectors, but it is also true that he was sentenced for private
violence and kidnapping against the immigrants imprisoned in the camp
(whom Lodeserto called ‘guests’ during his deposition!). Shame that
he was freed after a few days of house arrest.

-The reason of the struggle against the CPTs only derives from the
Bossi-Fini law on immigration.

-As many ‘guests’ of the detention centre had spent a period in the
Italian prisons before arriving in the camp waiting for the
deportation, it is obvious that these ‘criminals’ were the leaders of
the revolts that continually broke out in Regina Pacis (and that were
stirred up by the anarchists, of course).

The priest was then questioned about a series of specific episodes
concerning revolts inside the camp. In particular, during an attempt
of mass escape that occurred on August 10 2004, Vali, a 29 years old
immigrant from Moldovia, fell down the wall surrounding the camp and
remained paralysed. The defence pointed out how Vali was punched and
kicked by the cops on guard in the camp after he fell down. On the
contrary, the priest claimed that he and his collaborators tried to
help Vali. This is one of the biggest lies the priest told in his
deposition: not only Vali was beaten after he fell down, but he was
also totally abandoned by Lodeserto and his gang. It was thanks to
the solidarity of the local anarchists that Vali was moved in a
special clinic in Bologna, where he is still being treated.

Finally the priest exposed a series of attacks against him, including
the one when a Lecce comrade spitted at him (June 2006). The comrade
was then accused of insulting religion and must face trial on
November 9.

The next hearing will be held on November 23.