Friday, February 05, 2010

True Justice Is Rendered For Patrick Lumumba (Sort Of)

Posted by Tiziano



Above & below: Patrick’s bar which Knox managed to drive out of business.

1. Explanation of calunnia

Knox was prosecuted by the Republic of Italy, not by Lumumba, on a calunnia charge and her prison sentence was extended when she was found guilty of that. 

The charge of calunnia (art. 368) has been commonly translated as “slander” in the English/US media. This translation is incorrect, however, as calunnia is a crime with no direct equivalent in the respective legal systems.

The equivalent of “criminal slander” is diffamazione, which is an attack on someone”Ÿs reputation. Calunnia is the crime of making false criminal accusations against someone whom the accuser knows to be innocent, or to simulate/fabricate false evidence, independently of the credibility/admissibility of the accusation or evidence.

The charges of calunnia and diffamazione are subject to very different jurisprudence. Diffamazione is public and explicit, and is a more minor offence, usually resulting in a fine and only prosecuted if the victim files a complaint, while calunnia can be secret or known only to the authorities. It may consist only of the simulation of clues, and is automatically prosecuted by the judiciary.

The crimes of calunnia and diffamazione are located in different sections of the criminal code: while diffamazione is in the chapter entitled “crimes against honour” in the section of the Code protecting personal liberties, calunnia is discussed in the chapter entitled “crimes against the administration of justice”, in a section that protects public powers.


2. Knox Defense

Knox took the stand for two days during her trial, of course, trying to explain why she did what she did to her kindly former employer.

She only seemed to dig herself in deeper.

3. Patrick’s Win

Now Terni In Rete confirms his government compensation for his several weeks in Capanne and some damaging badmouthing.

CASSATION:  EIGHT THOUSAND EUROS FAIR COMPENSATION FOR PATRICK LUMUMBA

February 4th, 2010

By Adriano Lorenzoni

The fourth criminal session of the Court of Cassation has established that the sum of eight thousand Euros is fair compensation for Patrick Lumumba, the Congolese involved in spite of himself in the murder of the English student, Meredith Kercher.

Lumumba was dragged into involvement by Amanda Knox, and precisely because of her statements spent 14 days in prison.  Then the elements gathered by the investigators completely exonerated him. For that unjust imprisonment Lumumba had requested damages of 516 thousand Euros.

In the trial for the murder of Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox was condemned to 26 years imprisonment, her ex-fiancé, Raffaele Sollecito to 25.

Knox, precisely for her false accusations against Lumumba, was condemned to the payment of damages of the sum of 50 thousand Euros with an interim award, immediately applicable, of ten thousand Euros.  Neither Lumumba nor his lawyer wished to comment on the decision of the Court of Cassation.



Comments

The Le Chic bar was quite a long walk down to the north-east from the piazza where the court complex is located. The top end of a quiet conservative residential area where some of the students live.

It was quite a distance from all the other bars and discos in the old town, some of which are on the streets down toward her house which Meredith must often have walked. So it would not be a natural for bar-hopping.

Despite the above it seems to have been popular and quite a success, and it is to Patrick’s credit that he got it up and kept it running.

Patrick has never confirmed either way whether he made a firm offer of a waitress job to Meredith when he met her the night before her death. But if he did so before laying off Amanda Knox, and Meredith then unwittingly mentioned it, that might have been one of the makings for an escalation that ended in Meredith’s death.

That and the “don’t come to work” text that he sent to Amanda the next night. We have new info on the probable actual rent for the house which suggests she was heading into the financial soup.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/05/10 at 04:35 PM | #

Plus the Perugia prices for cocaine were going through the roof.

We have several hints from Perugia that the perps might have been becoming, or already were, cokeheads, and we might be able to firm that up in due course.

Mignini mentioned cocaine in his final summing-up, a surprise to those of us who thought genetically enhanced skunk cannabis (most cannabis is now skunk) or crystal meth might have been involved - both can cause psychotic episodes.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/05/10 at 05:15 PM | #

Thanks, Tiziano and Pete, for the info. Is this the final amount (8.000 Euro) for Patrick? It doesn’t seem enough. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the latest.

Posted by Earthling on 02/05/10 at 11:28 PM | #

Wow…The man was humliated, lost the business he built from the ground up, and from what I hear, is virtually unable to find an employer willing to touch him.

...for $8k

Posted by nashvilletn on 02/05/10 at 11:37 PM | #

Hi Earthling. Yeah sadly that is all he gets.

This is the one aspect of this case that really does strike many as unfair. Not only was he dragged away from his family in front of a whole zoo of photographers, and locked up in Capanne for two weeks - he was forbidden from re-opening the business for months.

The reason for that has never been successfully explained. He ran a good Perugia business, employed half a dozen workers, bought local stock from suppliers, and paid a considerable amount in taxes.

He could have sold the business for several hundred thousand Euros at minimum - prior to the depradations of Knox and the police.  But E8000 is all he gets.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/05/10 at 11:39 PM | #

If they were fair with him they would award him the amount of money he’d have made over all that time that the bar was closed due to the legal issues.  I would really be interested in knowing why the bar had to remain closed after he was proven innocent and released.  After all, it’s not as though there was any wrongdoing or evidence at the bar.  Totally unfair.  Does Patrick get to take it to a higher court and have another go at it?

Posted by Mo-in-Mass.,USA on 02/06/10 at 01:22 AM | #

Hi Tiziano,
Have you seen Ptrick press conference today? He does not agree with the compensation, will not accept the 8 thousand Euros and he said that he will take his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/regioni/umbria/2010/02/05/visualizza_new.html_1681242871.html

Posted by Jools on 02/06/10 at 01:51 AM | #

This seems incredibly unfair to me. The man was ruined. Imagine being accused of something so horrible, and held under suspicion for two weeks. I feel so sorry for Patrick and his wife and child in all this. It is infuriating that AK is sitting in jail getting her hair done and having acting lessons while this man is still suffering. I saw an interview with him and he seemed so gentle and humble somehow; he did absolutely nothing wrong. And no apology from Amanda OR Edda that I am aware of. If Curt had been similarly accused he’d be calling in the US Airforce, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama by now. I agree with you this does seem the only poor bit of justice so far in this sorry case.

Posted by TT on 02/06/10 at 01:52 AM | #

unfortunately, this is usually how it goes. i am assuming that perugia feels that Patrick has been totally cleared AND they are responsible for only his 14 days of prison. my guess is that for perugia that leaves responsibility for any further compensation or ammends to be made squarely at the feet of amanda knox.

surely despite her family’s wailing and gnashing of teeth about amanda’s innocence - they can hardly deny her singular culpability in the financial and emotional destruction brought onto this man and his family.

i continue to remember something rudy is purported to have attributed to sollecito about a black man involved means a black man is guilty. i wonder if that was not in amanda’s mind when she threw patrick to the wolves?

Posted by mojo on 02/06/10 at 11:43 AM | #

Translation from Jool’s reference to Ansa.it(Umbria) report
http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/regioni/umbria/2010/02/05/visualizza_new.html_1681242871.html
Meredith: Lumumba says no to charity.
He gives up damages for unfair detention.
5th February, 2006

Perugia February 5th

I don’t want charity, I’ll go to the European Court, Patrick Lumumba says about his unfair detention in the Meredith case.
Lumumba has decided to give up the eight thousand Euros assigned to him as compensation for being in prison for 14 days, accused of the murder of Meredith Kercher, a crime for which he was then completely absolved.  And he has decided to apply to the European Court of Rights.  Lumumba speaks of “humiliation”.  When he was arrested, Lumumba was running a pub in the centre of Perugia which he had to close.

After his arrest, he started to have - he explained - quite a few psychological problems.  Lumumba was involved in the investigation after statements made to the police by Amanda Knox, condemned to 26 years of imprisonment for the crime and for defamation against him.  The Court of the Assises also ruled that the young American should compensate him with 50 thousand Euros.  “But Patrick - explained his lawyer - has not taken a cent and probably never will take it because Amanda is a student without any property of her own.”

Posted by Tiziano on 02/06/10 at 02:12 PM | #

mojo,
I think that is exactly what was in Amanda’s mind at the time.  In another post I had pondered why Guede had not come out with the truth against Amanda and Sollecito, as they had left him holding the dirty end of the stick, but feel it’s because Guede is afraid of Sollecito’s family connections and wealth.  Guede had supposedly been beaten in jail and I’m thinking it may have been a warning from the Sollecito camp.
 
What mystifies me is why Knox and Sollecito have not attempted to extricate themselves to some degree by throwing one another under the bus, so to speak.  Why do they cling to the notion that they can win an appeal by continuing the charade that no one believes?  I know that Sollecito had said a few things that somewhat cut him loose from Knox, but neither has really said anything of use in solving the intricacies of the case. 

I am equally curious as to why, when Patrick Lumumba was exculpated, Amanda didn’t then “remember” that Guede was the black man at the cottage that night.

Posted by Mo-in-Mass.,USA on 02/06/10 at 02:22 PM | #

The Knox/Mellas clan could held a fundraiser to help Patrick ... if they had only a parcel of decency. The fact that their horribly sick daughter will not be able to pay does not meant that they should not offer to pay for her!

They absolutely should, especially horribly liar Edda who knew all along and finds it is OK not to apologize to him and not to offer condelences to the Kerchers.

And she is a teacher..  oh my! What seed of education is she planting in there?

Posted by Patou on 02/06/10 at 02:48 PM | #

A DETAILED REPORT FROM youreporter.it ON CASSATION APPEAL BY PATRICK LUMUMBA

http://www.youreporter.it/foto_PERUGIA_MEREDITH_LUMUMBA_MI_RIVOLGERO_A_STRASBURGO_1

PERUGIA, MEREDITH, LUMUMBA: I will approach Strasbourg

Perugia (Umbria)
February 5th, 2010
PERUGIA
He will not take a cent of the eight thousand Euros which he has been awarded for having spent 14 days in gaol, accused unjustly of being the murderer of Meredith Kercher.  The Congolese Patrick Diya Lumuba, 40 years old, announced this morning at a press conference, held together with his lawyer, Carlo Pacelli, that he will apply to the European Court of Human Rights against what he considers “a humiliation”,  “a joke”, “a polite way of insulting me”.

This is a reference to the decision of the fourth session of the Court of Cassation, which on Wednesday last rejected his appeal against the judgement of the Appeal Court of Perugia, which had awarded him eight thousand Euros as fair compensation for the 14 days spent in Capanne prison in November 2007.  Patrick, then the owner of a pub, had been accused by Amanda Knox of having killed the English student.  The facts then exonerated the Congolese and Knox was condemned in the first degree, not just for murder of Meredith Kercher, but for defamation against him.


“The State should defend decent citizens - Lumumba said today - instead, it has damaged me, not recognising its responsibilities.”  For the unfair detention, Patrick had requested compensation of 516 thousand Euros, considering the prolonged closure of his premises.  “I feel a great bitterness - he added - because the damage to my reputation has not been recognised, nor the psychological [damages] inflicted by prison.”  The 40 year-old claims that he still wakes up at night and looks for his family members, a fear which is linked to the seizure of his father in the Congo, who was “disappeared” for political reasons when he was nine.

“I will not take even a cent of those eight thousand Euros - he stated - but I will continue the battle in the European Court in Strasbourg.”  Patrick also referred to criticisms of Berlusconi against the magistrature, saying that “there would be some motive”.  Lawyer Pacelli, in sustaining [criticism] of what for him is an “iniquitous compensation”, referred to the case of a female student from Naples unfairly detained for 14 days, 11 of them in home detention, to whom a judgement of the Cassation Court awarded compensation of 33 thousand Euros.


The lawyer stressed that “if a right is recognised, the inadequacy of the amount is a negation of this same right”, concluding with a question: “I wonder and I ask you, if Patrick had not been a non-European citizen, if he had had white skin, whether perhaps he would have had a different compensation [award]?”

Posted by Tiziano on 02/08/10 at 03:01 AM | #

It’s awful to consider how many lives have been so negatively impacted in such a short time through their contact with this one person. I wonder what damage she will inflict in the future if she remains in denial.

Posted by Ann-Marie on 02/08/10 at 01:53 PM | #

The token amount of 8000 Euros offered to Patrick certainly appears insulting in the light of 33K for the student in Naples. Taken on its own, it is still a paltry sum, given the anguish and difficulties his false arrest has caused him. I also recall reading that he had been handled roughly upon his arrest ( why the FOA didn’t seize upon this as clear evidence of AK’s police brutality is a mystery), but I am guessing that it had something to do with his colouring. Police—and airport security—in the States have to be so uber-conscious of racial profiling. They have to be so p.c. at the airport that they will pull aside and wand a tired young mother with an infant and toddler in tow, and detain her with everything short of a strip search, while ignoring a seedy looking man also boarding the same flight. I witnessed this while passing through security on my last trip back to the UK. It made me toy with the thought of telling them, Hey, by the way I am an ARAB, don’t you want to ask me some questions??? but I would have missed my flight. Anyway, I imagine it can’t be completely comfortable to be among such a small minority ( a black in Perugia) even absent something as disturbing as the murder of a student known to frequent your establishment.I feel for him and his family. The stigma will be there for quite a while longer.

As to the Knox family’s sympathy for Patrick’s plight, how much sympathy did they show for Meredith’s? Why does anyone honestly imagine they would care? If they were informed that compensating Patrick for AK’s unretracted accusation would lessen her sentence, they might have to think about it for a few hours, but, then again, she probably told her mom he was a “bad man” and had mistreated her in some way. He’s a big boy. He’ll get over it.

Posted by mimi on 02/09/10 at 03:58 AM | #

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