Palermo: Defense lawyers want victim present for trial in group rape case at Foro Italico
Inside the courtroom, there is a clash between the prosecution and the defense. Outside the courthouse in Palermo, the relatives of the detainees, who arrive on the prison police bus, are waiting to say goodbye to “their boys”, while not far away a dozen associations have staged a sit-in to ask to be admitted as civil parties.
In the courtroom are five of the six young men – who were adults at the time of the crime – investigated for the gang rape of a 19-year-old girl that took place on July 7th in an abandoned construction site in Foro Italico, Palermo. Only one follows the hearing via video conference, connected from a prison where he is held. The victim of the rape is absent, staying in a protected community outside of Sicily. The only minor in the group (who has since turned 18) is in a juvenile detention center, after already being sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in an expedited trial.
The preliminary hearing before Judge Cristina Lo Bue for the six adults – Elio Arnao, Cristian Barone, Gabriele Di Trapani, Angelo Flores, Samuele La Grassa, and Christian Maronia – opens in a climate of open confrontation between the parties. The defense lawyers have already announced their counter-moves to overturn the charges against their clients. The defense strategy is clear and is linked to the request to hear the victim again in light of the “new evidence” that the lawyers claim to have collected. At the next hearing, they will request a conditional expedited trial with a new hearing for the victim, who was already heard by Judge Clelia Maltese two months ago during the probative incident. The material collected by the defense in a previous hearing in March had not been admitted into the case file, but the lawyers are insisting. According to the lawyers, the new evidence would essentially demonstrate that the young woman had consented.
A defense strategy that does not surprise lawyer Carla Garofalo, the legal representative of the girl. “This is literature,” she explains, “they do it in all rape trials. I would also do it, but it is unlikely because I will never defend a rape suspect. In any case, this thesis is unsustainable, because there are videos that speak (videos shot with the cell phones by the suspects)”. The legal representative speaks of “a toxic environment” surrounding her client “who was heavily threatened and attacked on Easter Monday” and denounces “a denigrating campaign against the girl that lasted all summer”.
“I, unfortunately,” she adds, “entered the process only in January so I could not manage and follow the previous part.” Lawyer Garofalo also highlights the deep state of prostration experienced by the young woman: “She has ups and downs, moments of anguish and hope. Fortunately, we have a good relationship. She is picking up the pieces of all the chaos around her, with continuous aggressions. And sometimes she wonders who made her do it”.
Around the rape victim girl, about ten associations have rallied, who in addition to demonstrating in front of the courthouse have asked to become civil parties, as the City of Palermo has also done. The judge has postponed any decision to the next hearing, scheduled for April 29th. If the judge does not admit the conditional expedited trial, the defendants’ lawyers will have to choose between the “plain” expedited trial or the ordinary one.
Palermo, via al processo per lo stupro di gruppo del Foro Italico: gli avvocati difensori vogliono la ragazza in aula
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