The Court of Cassation has upheld the convictions handed down in the third appeal trial for the Viareggio train disaster, the disaster of June 29, 2009, in which 32 people died and over 100 were injured following the derailment and subsequent explosion of a freight train loaded with LPG.
With the Supreme Court's decision, the five-year prison sentence for former CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato and RFI Mauro Moretti, 72, also becomes final. He will be serving time in prison. Ten other cases have become final. All are charged with negligent train disaster, and Moretti is also charged with arson.
"I am outraged by this sentence because it is profoundly unjust," commented the former manager's lawyer, Ambra Giovene, adding that it is "unfair for the people affected by this outcome, for some of whom it means opening the doors of prison for a negligent crime, which is certainly a very serious matter: there were 32 deaths and hundreds of injuries. A crime for which Engineer Moretti is not guilty. It's not me, his lawyer, who says so, but the documents."
It is likely that the lawyer will file a motion for house arrest as soon as possible.
The judges of the Fourth Criminal Section essentially accepted the request of the Attorney General's Office, which had requested the dismissal of all appeals filed by the defendants and the full confirmation of the sentences established in the third appeal hearing held in Florence. They also requested confirmation of the sentences for the other defendants, including former managers and technicians of the companies involved in the management and maintenance of the derailed train.
The ruling concludes one of the longest and most complex legal proceedings in recent Italian history, which unfolded through multiple levels of jurisdiction and referrals ordered by the Supreme Court itself.
In the third appeal trial, the Court of Florence upheld all the convictions handed down in the previous second-instance trial. The judges accepted the prosecution's requests, reiterating Moretti's sentence and upholding the sentences, ranging from six to two years in prison, for the other eleven defendants.
That trial was held after a new postponement ordered by the Court of Cassation limited to the determination of the sentences and the effects of the recognition of mitigating circumstances.
In their ruling, the Florentine judges emphasized that "economic activity undoubtedly deserves protection," but clarified that such protection "cannot prevail over the protection of human life."
The Court also explained the criteria used in re-determination of sentences, focusing on the weight given to the mitigating circumstances recognized for the defendants. According to the judges, reducing the sentence by one-ninth compared to the basic sentence maintained "the necessary balance" between the recognition of a significant mitigating circumstance, represented by compensation for damages to the victims and their families, and the need to apply a sanction appropriate to the extraordinary gravity of the case.
The reasons for the ruling highlighted that the compensation, while significant and covering a very broad group of injured parties, had been paid out late and by a third party. In light of this, the Court cited the "exceptional gravity of the criminal conduct established" and the "exceptional gravity of the damages resulting from the crimes" for which the proceedings were being instituted.
With the Supreme Court's ruling, the responsibilities established against Moretti and the other defendants for one of the worst railway tragedies to have occurred in Italy in recent decades have now become definitive.
(Unioneonline)