Thursday, February 24, 2011

Thursday Trial Hearing Scheduled For Sollecito Family Charges Of Perversion Of Justice

Posted by Peter Quennell



[Above: Raffele Sollecito’s father Dr Francesco Sollecito who is a urologist practicing in Bari]

Update: Italian media sites are reporting that the new trial date for the Sollecitos is 28 March as the investigating judge Alberto Avena has commitments outside Perugia. The prosecutors are Giuliano Mignini and Manuela Handy. The Sollecito defense team is Marco Brusco, Francesco Crisis, Luca Maori and Donatella Donati.

There should be a hearing in Perugia in the case against the Sollecito family on Thursday.

Francesco (Sollecito’s father), Vanessa (his sister), Mara (his stepmother) Giuseppe (his uncle) and Sara (his aunt) all of Bari have been charged with leaking a crime scene video out of the 10,000-plus pages plus of evidence and exhibits to Telenorba, a Bari television station.

It was an apparent attempt to discredit the investigators although the video backed that claim weakly if at all. The video included deeply upsetting closeups of Meredith’s uncovered body and the wounds to her neck. It was later re-broadcast by the state network RAI throughout Italy.

Richard Owen of the London Times in an article no longer online described the Telenorba and RAI broadcasts as follows.

Relatives of Meredith Kercher, the British student murdered in Perugia in November, were said to be shocked and distressed last night after images of her bloodied corpse were broadcast on Italian television…

Telenorba, which showed the footage late at night, warned viewers that it was disturbing and suitable only for adults. It showed police scientists in white protective clothing pulling back the duvet to reveal Ms Kercher’s body and slashed throat, and turning the corpse over to examine her bloodied back.

Her eyes were covered by a mask. RAI did not include this part of the footage in its news broadcasts.



[Above Raffaele Sollecito with his sister Vanessa Sollecito who was fired late in 2009 by the Carabinieri]

This is a translation by Jools of an April 2009 report in La Nazione.

The prosecutor of Perugia has served notice of the completion of four investigations into Raffaele Sollecito’s family members and two journalists of the TV station Telenorba on the transmission of a forensic video in which the body of Meredith Kercher wa shown…

The report on the investigations (usually a prelude to a request for trial) indicates crimes were committed of defamation, invasion of privacy, publication of arbitrary acts of investigation and publication of gruesome acts.

According to the reconstruction by the Perugia prosecutor, the father and sister of Raphael Sollecito had legitimately obtained the scientific survey of the police, and had then illegally provided it to Telemundo.

The report also cites a journalist and the editor of Panorama for the publication of an article in which they reported that blood samples from Meredith had revealed an alcohol concentration above the legal norm - implying she was drunk when she was killed. This claim was proved a lie in the course of the forensic tests.

And this is a translation by Jools of an AGI news-service report of April 2009 also no longer online.

Eight “notices of termination of the investigations” have been reported by the public prosecutor of Perugia…  Four Sollecito family members, the TV journalist on Telenorba and the director of the station, are accused of the crimes of defamation, invasion of privacy, publication of documents during the investigation, and publication of gruesome acts….

According to the reconstruction, the Sollecito family members delivered to Telenorba the video and photos of the crime scene survey carried out by the forensic team on November 2 of 2007 in Meredith’s house. Telenorba then put the material on the air.

Other investigations are on-going.

The family members are all also charged with an attempt to manipulate the Knox-Sollecito trial through the political process. There is said to be evidence wiretaps capturing them trying to get family friends in the Italian parliament in Rome to have several senior investigators removed from the case.

Vanessa Sollecito was fired from the Carabinieri late in 2009 for her involvement in this attempt to manipulate politicians, and we believe she still faces a further internal Carabinieri hearing. 



[Above: the town of Bari in south-east Italy where ferries depart for the east Adriatic coast and Greece]

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/24/11 at 05:46 AM in Trials 2008 & 2009,  The legal followups,  Italian related,  Raff Sollecito PR,  3 No evidence hoax

Comments

Quite a crime wave. The attempt to diminish and disappear Meredith by both families and their various stooges reached a real crescendo late in 2008. There appeared to be no constraint shown at all. The pain on the faces of Meredith’s family at their public appearances was quite heartbreaking.

The attempt extended to the misleading blog of the sneering self-promoter Candace Dempsey in Seattle. TJMK came online first and foremost to fight this appalling desecration of a victim, and the first long post by Skeptical Bystander was about vicious remarks allowed to stand on that blog.

Italian justice is nothing if not formidable in the face of attempted pressure (ask Mr Berlusconi) and in 2009 both families were hit with serious charges. Both of their trials are now playing out.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/24/11 at 06:52 AM | #

I try not to hate anyone, but IF (and it remains to be seen from the trial), these members of Sollecito’s family did something so cruel, so reckless and so..pointlessly un-necessary, I will hate them forever.

Posted by Janus on 02/24/11 at 11:29 AM | #

Wow! So where are those nice two families that Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox are supposed to have been raised from?

You know, the ones that their respective lawyers tried to portray to the jurors in the first trial?

If Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox are” innocent”, as both the Sollecito and Knox & Mellas families continue to profess, then why these developments?

Posted by True North on 02/24/11 at 04:46 PM | #

“The report also cites a journalist and the editor of Panorama for the publication of an article in which they reported that blood samples from Meredith had revealed an alcohol concentration above the legal norm - implying she was drunk when she was killed. This claim was proved a lie in the course of the forensic tests.”


I wonder what the source was for that report in Panorama (that (mis)information would not have just come from nowhere), does anyone know?

It’s unlikely the editor would have printed a story without quoting a named source (as to do otherwise is very bad practice and reduces the newspaper’s credibility.)

Was the source the Sollecito family?

Did Panorama print a retraction?

I always thought that the attempts to discredit Meredith by the Knoxes and Sollecitos was just about as low as you can get, and makes me believe the families are sure their beloved children are guilty.

Posted by lilly on 02/24/11 at 05:39 PM | #

In the meanwhile the Supreme Court filed today the sentence report about Rudy Guede.

Posted by ncountryside on 02/24/11 at 08:40 PM | #

Thanks a lot ncountryside. I noticed that. This is the report referred to in the intro to this post here.

Can you see how many pages it is? We will post at least on main points.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/24/11 at 08:55 PM | #

Peter Quennell, the report should be 23 pages long. Sentence no.7195 16 dec 2010, filed 24 feb 2011. Here are some excerpts posted in italian sites. Sorry for the hasty translation.

“…. una escalation di violenza…. ”
“.... an escalation of violence ....”

“.... scannata con un colpo di coltello alla gola, mortale ….”
“.... slaughtered with a knife to the throat ....”

“.... come se la soppressione violenta della liberta’ di autodeterminazione ed il corpo martoriato di una giovane vita, quella di Meredith Kercher, non imporrebbero di qualificare meramente occasionale e pretestuoso il motivo di fare sesso per scatenare, a fronte della resistenza della donna, la forza brutale e prevaricatrice di una plurima, collettiva condotta che rivela nei suoi tristi protagonisti la volonta’ orgiastica di dare sfogo agli impulsi criminali piu’ perversi tali da destare un profondo senso di sbigottimento, ripugnanza e disprezzo in ogni persona di moralita’ media .... “
“.... as if the violent suppression of freedom of self-determination and the tortured body of a young life, that of Meredith Kercher, it would require to qualify for only occasional and pretextual the reason to have sex to unleash against the resistance of the woman, ......the brute force prevaricating and a plural, collective behavior …...  that reveals the will in his sad protagonists’ orgiastic impulse to give vent to criminals’ perverse such as to create a deep sense of dismay, disgust and contempt in every person of average morality….”


“la decisione a cui e’ chiamata questa corte concerne, e solo, la responsabilita’ del Guede in ordine al fatto contestato e dell’eventuale partecipazione di altri al delitto si dovra’ tener conto solo nella misura in cui una tale circostanza valga ad incidere sul tema che costituisce l’impegno esclusivo in punto di riforma o conferma della declaratoria di responsabilita’ dell’imputato, quest’ultima del tutto condivisa dai giudici di primo e secondo grado”.
“the decision to which this court is concerned, and only, is the responsibility of Guede ...... the possible involvement of others in the crime must be taken into account only ...... in point of reform or confirmation of responsibility of the accused (=, AK,  =RS) ......  by the courts of first and second degree. ”

“ …. inventata la storia di Guede del bacio con Meredith alla Domus, dell’appuntamento la sera successiva, del petting fatto con la ragazza in casa la sera del giorno seguente …. ”
“ .... invented the Guede’s story about the kiss with Meredith at Domus, (invented) the next evening date, (invented) the petting with the girl herself at home during the evening of the next day .... ”

“ …. il ragionamento del giudice di merito si salvaguarda pienamente da critiche assertivamente di legittimità, in realtà di merito, e di conseguenza perdenti …. ”
“.... the reasoning of the Court is fully safeguarded by loser critics regarding legitimacy, reality,

Posted by ncountryside on 02/24/11 at 11:45 PM | #

Thanks a lot ncountryside. That very hard tone will depress the PR team and conspiracy theorists.

Here again is the background. We will be posting on this tomorrow.

This is one of the English language reports with a couple more translations.  Cassation says more than one person took part in Kercher murder

Also a brief Fox News report - Italian media reports are going much further: Amanda Knox Defense Dealt Setback by Italian Court

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/25/11 at 01:08 AM | #

Peter, thanks for posting these links

Posted by Barry on 02/25/11 at 05:58 AM | #

It’s hard to fathom the person or persons that could participate in the release of such materials to the press. “A special circle in Hell” comes to mind.

Posted by Earthling on 02/26/11 at 05:32 PM | #
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