The Assize Court of Nuoro, not the single judge, has jurisdiction to hear the trial arising from the investigation by the Cagliari District Anti-Mafia Directorate into the alleged "Sardinian Legionary Front," the group accused of apology for fascism and far-right propaganda.
The panel, presided over by Elena Meloni and joined by Filippo Orani, dismissed the objection of lack of jurisdiction raised by Federico Paolo Capra's defense this morning, confirming its jurisdiction over the proceedings and the lateness of the request. The Court, however, reserved its decision on the other preliminary issues raised by the defense team, adjourning the hearing until October.
Among the main topics discussed in court was the role of the undercover ROS agent employed during the investigations.
Lawyers Margherita Baragliu and Rinaldo Lai argued that it was necessary to determine whether the operator acted as an undercover agent or, instead, as an agent provocateur. According to the defense, the soldier allegedly introduced himself to the group as a Casa Pound militant, first introducing the topic of political violence into the conversations and accessing the entire content of the chats. If he were to be classified as an agent provocateur, the defense argued, the evidence collected should be declared inadmissible.
Attorney Baragliu, representing Ananio Manca, also raised a non bis in idem objection, pointing out that her client had already been tried (and acquitted by Judge Valentina Rostellato) in a different proceeding relating to the burning of Augusto Sanna's car, an incident that coincides with the same one alleged in one of the charges in the current trial. Attorney Gianluca Sannio, on the other hand, cited the dismissal order issued by the Nuoro preliminary investigations judge on February 4, 2021, arguing that, in the absence of a formal reopening of the investigation, the case should be dismissed for the same crime, charged to Angelo Sulas.
The defense then challenged the handling of the investigation, arguing that part of the investigative activity was initially registered on Form 45 (documents not constituting a crime) and then merged into the criminal proceedings, potentially compromising the right to a fair hearing. They therefore requested the production of documentation relating to the use of the undercover agent. Public Prosecutor Guido Pani responded by maintaining the full legality of the investigative activity. He noted that at the time of the events, there were no specific directives from the National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office regarding the use of undercover agents and that the activity could also be initiated at the initiative of the judicial police.
Regarding the registration on Form 45, the prosecutor explained that the procedures were dictated solely to protect the officer's identity (current and ongoing protection), whose data could not be included in the documents accessible to the defense for obvious security reasons. He also emphasized that all of the officer's communications were fully recorded, even though this is not a legal requirement, and that he is listed (under his cover name) among the witnesses.
The Court rejected the request to produce the documentation relating to Form 45 and reserved its decision on the objections regarding the role of the undercover agent and the principle of ne bis in idem. Defendants on various charges include Angelo and Niccolò Sulas, 31 and 26, Ananio Manca, 43, Federico Capra, 41, Martino Manca, 37, and Gian Piero Gusinu, 61. The defense team is composed of Lorenzo Soro, Gianluca Sannio, Margherita Baragliu, Rinaldo Lai, Angelo Manconi, and Angelo Magliocchetti. Luisella Pirisi and Giuseppe Casu are plaintiffs. The ROS investigation had outlined a broad framework: from association with subversive purposes and the reorganization of the fascist party (later redefined as apologia) to arson, attacks, and threats.
