The eight-month sentence for Andrea Delmastro, the former Undersecretary of Justice charged with revealing official secrets in the anarchist Alfredo Cospito case, was upheld on appeal.
The judges of the Third Court of Appeal in Rome ruled this, rejecting the request of the Attorney General's Office, which, as had occurred in the first instance, had requested an acquittal for the Fratelli d'Italia representative, arguing "because the act does not constitute a crime."
After the reading of the ruling and a deliberation that lasted over two hours, Delmastro—who resigned as undersecretary after the “Bisteccheria” case—left the Court of Appeal without, essentially, making any statements.
"We will certainly appeal to the Supreme Court," he said as he left the building in Piazzale Clodio, adding in a statement that he "does not agree with the decision. I have no intention of stopping here," he added. "With four requests for acquittal, in the certainty of finally being able to demonstrate the correctness of my actions, without any ifs or buts."
At the heart of the proceedings are several statements made in Parliament by the vice president of COPASIR and head of organization for FdI, Giovanni Donzelli , in February three years ago. Delmastro's party colleague reported to the Chamber the content of conversations that took place during exercise time in the Sassari prison between Cospito—who later went on a long hunger strike to protest the harsh prison regime—and Camorra and 'Ndrangheta inmates, also under the 41-bis regime . Donzelli had received this information from his party colleague, who is responsible for the Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP). The information the now former undersecretary gave Donzelli was part of a report from the prison administration, marked "for limited disclosure," prepared based on observation of inmates in prison, which Delmastro himself had requested to see.
(Unioneonline)
