Unofficial translation of an article published on July 26th, 2013 by Paolo G. Parovel on “La Voce di Trieste”: LINK
Case Free Trieste: why Il Piccolo tries to save deputy prosecutor Frezza accusing the police?
Does this question scandalize you? Then wait for the answer, because is the reconstruction of a scandal involving both the judiciary and the press. If the involved parties want to sue me, they are welcome: we can prove all that we are writing about.
You are likely familiar with TV series about a typical little city parasitized by corruption network across the board, made of entrepreneurs, politicians, and officers who reach as far as within the local judiciary, and control the only newspaper in town, therefore maintaining a façade of normality. A façade that hides their unpunished crimes, at least until the people have enough of it, rebel against the system, so that surfaces to repress them.
Corruption networks in Trieste
However, maybe it never occurred to you that what you were seeing is happening also in Trieste. Indeed, here decades of such a corrupt power have ultimately triggered a civilian revolt that is gaining increasing consent calling for the political and economic rights of the Free Territory of Trieste, which the provisional administering Italian Government is violating. Still, being involved in much worse problems, that hasn’t reacted yet.
The reactions come from the very local networks that rule over the city and parasitize it taking advantage of the aforementioned violations. While the re-establishment of the rule of law (even in the form of the Italian Government’s special trusteeship mandate) would stop and punish those networks, as appropriate. And this is not about regular corruption only, because it does also extend to spoliating the international Free Port of Trieste which those networks are attempting jointly with the interests of big, competing Italian ports, and not without mafia-like criminal cartels involved.
Northern Free Port of Trieste, a strategic sector of the international Free Port of Trieste.
Goals, protagonists, impunities
Investigative newspaper “La Voce di Trieste” has already analyzed, proved, and even denounced to the judiciary (under my own responsibility) both the aforementioned operations and their goals and public actors, as well as the abnormal impunities they enjoy on the judicial level.
Their goals are suffocating Trieste’s naval trades and free port regime, transferring them to Italian ports.
And the public protagonists are politicians across the board, with various external supporters ranging from the Italian Democratic Party (PD) and its satellites (first in line Cosolini, Rosato and Boniciolli, plus new entry Serracchiani) to the PDL and its accessories (first in line Dipiazza, Menia and Antonione).
Their supporters are Il Piccolo (businessmen from Veneto and the PD, director Possamai) which use propagandas, disinformation and defamation, and subordinate Slovene-language newspaper Primorski dnevnik, which always picks up that “information”.
Among their judicial impunities there are, for example, the Prosecution Offices’ absolute inaction about the violations against the Free Port, its lack of answers to complaints against Dipiazza, and the adminsitrative judgment of the Regional Administrative Court for Friuli Venezia Giulia that we analyzed and denounced on our paper edition (No.29). Obviously, there are also excellent magistrates, however, the occurring of such serious abuses in Trieste’s legal proceedings is notorious and documented.
There is little doubt that this is a particular local system, extended, not completely public, and unpunished and that its corruptions, be them intentional or negligent, take place within and outside the institutions.
Defamation, provocation, and intimidation
It follows that the members and beneficiaries of this apparatus have good reasons to fear Free Trieste’s growth, but they have nothing serious to oppose to the Movement’s legal theses, which are indisputable and easily confirmed in international fora.
This is why this group organized an attack to the Movement using orchestre campaigns of defamation, provocation, and intimidation, especially through “Il Piccolo” and its abnormal, already denounced synergies with the Prosecution Office, which consist in publishing and exploiting news about ongoing investigations carried out by the public prosecutor and current deputy Chief Prosecutor Federico Frezza.
The defamatory campaign
The defamatory campaign against Free Trieste began on all fronts, using the PD’s Italian and Slovene apparatus – namely “Il Piccolo” and “Primorski dnevnik” – as well as parliamentarians with the immunities that come with their official duty. It consists in claiming or implying that Free Trieste’s sponsor is Giulio Camber or other obscure interests, even from abroad, as well as in demanding that its budgets be either investigated or made public.
It is paradoxical accusations and demands, because they come from Italian political parties fueled by corruptions, bribes, systematic thefts, and public money. Yet, they target a spontaneous local movement that funds itself thanks to its almost 3000 members and counting, not to mention the donations of Triestines abroad.
Provocations
In truth, it was certain magistrates and officers to begin the provocations: facing the legitimate exceptions for the recognition of Trieste’s legal status (temporary civil administration, not Italian sovereignty), they rejected one after another, with increasing arrogance, without reasons or with gross motivations without legal ground, and even mutually contradictory.
The only judge who began the evaluation proceeding was transferred, and it is in this very trial that the actions of another magistrate, on July 18th [17th] to cause a protest in the courtroom against him and against the Court itself. (see. La Voce No. 29, pag. 4). Protest which were immediately exploited to unleash a denigratory campaign worth other eras and regime against the whole Free Trieste Movement.
But is was this very campaign to show the political connections between judicial circles and the local newspaper. Follows a reconstruction of the analysis elements in our possession.
Intimidations: judiciary and press
Intimidations were immediate, and consisted in the declarations of the President of the Criminal Section, Filippo Gulotta, to “Il Piccolo”. Mr. Gullotta violently criminalized Free Trieste and demanded that the Prosecution investigates. But it is notorious (art. 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) that, since the alleged crimes involve magistrates in Trieste, the responsible Prosecution Office is Bologna’s. The newspaper published both declarations with vehemence, on July 19th, at page 22.
In the morning of Tuesday, July 23rd, a journalist of “Il Piccolo” provocatively seeks to interview Free Trieste, all while “slipping” the information that Public Prosecutor and deputy Chief Prosecutor Frezza has opened an investigation and ordered the Political Police to get nord or seize within the day the list of all members of the Movement.
The journalist doesn’t “slip” how the press came to know such a secret news about ongoing investigation, or why it’s being published in the first place (the interview comes out the next day: distorted, unfairly editorialized to make it sounds hostile, and the questions appear forceful).
At 1.30PM Free Trieste, having considered that seizing the list of its members if an authoritative action against democratic freedoms, without reason, and constitutes a manifest intimidatory action against the whole Movement and all of its members, warns and preemptively denounces Public Prosecutor Frezza on grounds of a breach of art. 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and submits the documentation to all competent international fora, as well as to Italian and Slovene press (and later also to international guarantors).
About 3PM: “Il Piccolo” unleashes the press campaign publishing this news on line [follows an unofficial translation]:
«THE [POLITICAL POLICE] DIGOS TAKES HOLD OF FREE TRIESTE’S STATUS AND MEMBER LIST
After the protests enacted by Free Trieste’s militants on past Thursday [July 17th, 2013] during the hearing in which the Court was to evaluate an exception regarding “the lack of Italian jurisdiction over Trieste:, the Political Police was tasked with getting a hold of the Movement’s Statute and member list of Free Trieste’s members within today.
At the moment this is a mere cognitive investigation, no criminal charges are being levied yet. In-deep further news on the paper edition, on sale Wednesday, July 24th [2013].»
On this ground, “Il Piccolo” spent the afternoon drafting the “further news” announced for the July 24th paper issue, obviously considering the seizing of Free Trieste’s member list a fait accompli. And so it handed the news to subordinate newspaper Primorski dnevnik.
However, since the seizing didn’t occur, it appears that the newspaper’s source is not the Political Police/Digos, otherwise it would have been rectified. Instead, the source must be in the Prosecution Office, such an authoritative one that nobody could doubt it, or to check if the Digos obeyed to the Prosecutor’s order.
Later in the evening, “Il Piccolo” did however receive both an official refutation and Free Trieste’s complaint against Public Prosecutor Frezza. So it quickly corrected its article, as we can read hereafter. Except, it didn’t inform Primorski dnevnik about the abrupt change.
On July 24th, Primorski dnevnik has consequently published the original news, which it received from “Il Piccolo”, thus falsely presenting as an actual event the seizing of the lists [La Voce translated it from Slovenian to Italian, this unofficial translation goes from Italian to English]:
«THE POLICE IN FREE TRIESTE’S OFFICE
Agents of the Police Office of Trieste, Political Section, obtained from Free Trieste’s office in Piazza della Borsa the statute and list of the organization’s members.
They are handing the documents over to the Prosecution Office, which envisions a criminal complaint against the organization’s members who, last week, protested loudly in the Court. They did loudly opposed the judge who rescheduled to next year the review of an exception about the lack of Italy’s jurisdiction over the area of the former Free Territory of Trieste (FTT).
It was the President of the Court, Filippo Gulotta, to ask the protestors be subject to criminal prosecution, while the facts are under public prosecutor Federico Frezza’s investigation, even if, as he claims, there are no official criminal charges yet. (…).»
Again on July 24th, “Il Piccolo” itself devotes a whole article to the matter. The author is Corrado Barbacini, and the article is published on line together with the aforementioned interview. The article claims that:
«THE [POLITICAL POLICE] DIGOS WANTS» the list of Free Trieste’s members, has requested it «in past days» but «informally»; and, despite admissions that it was Prosecutor Frezza, responsible of the investigation, to ask the political police further investigations, the articles claims that it was merely inspective measures, while Prosecutor Frezza «has not signed a decree regarding an official demand for those lists», therefore «at the moment, this is a request, not an order or, worse, a seizing.» Which the Prosecutor could «seek to obtain with an official measure» at an unspecified later time.
The newspaper fails to properly emphasize that the Prosecutor has been denounced, with a request to suspend him from his duties, for investigating in breach of art. 11 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as by intimidating means and with the high publicity of the press on political grounds.
Essentially, “Il Piccolo” tries to shied Prosecutor Frezza, relieving him from all liabilities deriving from informing the newspaper about an investigation, about the order to get hold or seize the Movement’s member list, portrayed as the Digos’ own autonomous idea. Again: putting all the blame on the police to save Frezza from critiques and other consequences.
And to claim that, no matter what, the Public Prosecutor’s actions have a solid foundation, it misrepresents the facts implying that on July 18th [17th] Free Trieste’s activists had broken into the Courtroom «with drums, whistles, banners, singing, chanting slogans, and carrying huge flags», none of which is true.
Adding also that Frezza’s is «a recognitive investigations to understand the goals of the movement, who supports it, and also who funds it». Drawing a parallel to the arguments and purposes regarding the defamatory campaigns on the matter, much supported by the newspaper itself and its political supporters.
And today, July 25th, while “Primorski dnevnik” rectified the false news published yesterday, “Il Piccolo” continues to avoid giving the right emphasis to the essential news: the proceeding against Public Prosecutor Frezza, as well as avoiding to explain if he is willing to let go or not. All while refusing to retract the deceptive information published the day before.
Instead, it publishes more deceptive news. A new, poisonous comment by Barbacini about another hearing, held yesterday, when the Court insisted to provocatively dramatize the problem opposing to some hundred peaceful activists outside the Court no less than a whole division of the Mobile Unit (Celere) from Padova, shielded in anti-raid gear, and patrolling the Courtroom with 4 policemen and 4 Carabinieri: abundance for intimidatory means to protect a twisted law and (dis)order.
All while the PD (Cosolini) promotes the propagandas for the illegal housing speculation in the Northern Free Port, which, so far, the Prosecution has done nothing about, as well as releasing a new Municipal contract to Greensisam, despite the City Council having no authority to release one.
Conclusions
In view of the above, it is possible inferring and concluding that:
a) the local political establishment is carrying out aggressive operations against Free Trieste Libera, which considers a thread to tis interest;
b) the already denounced, abnormal operative solidarity among the Prosecution Office and the newspaper, at least on factual grounds, appears demonstrated. The newspaper received (not for the first time) information about prosecutor Frezza’s ongoing investigations, and uses them for political purposes. Specifically, to harm the investigated person and for the gain of third parties. Only to step back and cover up the Prosecution Office’s responsibilities, going as far at using the very Police as a scapegoat;
c) if all of the above is no forms of corruption, be it both of intention or negligence, of Trieste’ social and institutional tissue, well, someone please let us know what else that may be.
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Integratiotion to the analysis. Persecution of defense lawyers, abnormal environmental hostilities, including but not limited to exclusion or loss of competences with regard to Italian judicial bodies acting in Trieste.
Taking advantage of some loud protest during a hearing, the President of the Criminal Section, Judge Filippo Gulotta, Public Prosecutor Federico Frezza, and local newspaper “Il Piccolo” directed by Paolo Possamai unleash a joint action against Free Trieste.
An action that doesn’t consist “only” in a criminal investigation outside competences (art. 11 of the Italian Criminal Code), in publishing news related to this investigation, and in an intimidatory attempt to seize the list of the people who belong (and, according to the newspapers, a list of those who sympathize too) with a peaceful Movement that stands for legality.
As published by “Il Piccolo”, the public attack brought by the very President of the Court’s Criminal Section, Gullotta, consisted in seeking two more things: that a whole professional group, namely magistrates, take a stand and that the Movement’s lawyer be punished.
Since it all sounds hard to believe, follows a literal [translation] from the article at page 32 of July 19th, 2013 issue of “Il Piccolo”. Prudentially in quotes but, to date (July 25th) not retracted by President Gullotta or others, despite the severe implications it carries:
“At this point Gulotta expects, besides the Prosecution Offices’s intervention, a stand «of the ANM», the Italian National Association of Magistrates, and «of the Lawyer’s Professional Order, because the plaintiff’s lawyer […] attacked the judge himself. It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.»”.
In truth, that lawyer had just fine his job, seeking that the Court recorded in the hearing’s minute that it was the judge himself to trigger the protests in the Courtroom. It is the very protests that would be soon used to mount the abnormal political-judicial attack against the whole Movement. And the punishment of the lawyer is a complete, unbelievable violation of the very basic principles of the legal order.
The inherent and environmental seriousness of those official initiatives of the President of the Court’s Criminal Section is further confirmed by the fact that it appress that the local office of the ANM took the stand he asked for, thus involving all its members who work in the Court of Trieste. None of them dissociated from it. The Lawyer’s Professional Order has not punished the Movement’s lawyer, but it has not stood to support him either. And other political “democratic” organizations and authorities remained equally silent.
Analyzing the public, factual evidences, one infers that Trieste’s judicial, forensic, and political environment, as a whole and with the obvious, noble exception of individual magistrates, lawyers, or civil rights activists, grants the defensive rights even to the worse criminals, and this is fair, yet, in an unworthy judicial, political and press-run clima, which resembles a lynching and is filled with severe public intimidation, it denies it all to one only group of natural and legal persons, and to their lawyers.
And what group is this? One that peacefully declare, arguing indisputably in law only, and carrying a legitimate interest, that Trieste and its Free Port are, since 1954, the Free Territory under the Italian Government’s provisional administration under an international mandate, and therefore cannot be considered (be it politically, legally, administratively, fiscally, etc.) as if they were sovereign territory of the Italian State.
This repressive situation, that now is visible to the public, excludes legitimate suspicion under art. 11 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure as for the competences of the Court or other judicial bodies serving duties in Trieste in proceeding regarding the Question of the Free Territory respect to the parties involved. But moving the aforementioned proceedings to a neutral Court would be expensive, and it cannot be the parties to pay for it: they must be either exempted or refunded by the Italian judicial authorities.
Furthermore, if anyone needed a concrete, actual evidence actionable before international guarantors that those specific rights are being repressed – but the is also true for the general rights of the citizens and of the local community – by the Italian authorities in Trieste, now magistrates Gulotta and Frezza, as well as newspaper “Il Piccolo” have undeniable provided one, side by side with the actions or inactions of the condescending political and institutional context.
And it all damages the legitimate interests and the tarnishes the image of the Italian State and of its Government. The only ones that gain something from it are the circles who, across the board, support and exploit the nationalism of the border area in Trieste, ever since.
As for this, a shadow returns from the past: I experienced it directly.
My very first battle on the press with this very same judge, Filippo Gullotta (or Gulotta) here in Trieste dates bark to 1989, when he was the examining magistrate of the notorious, most delicate judicial and political case of the international accident that costed the life of a young fisherman from Grado, and was publicly exploited for all possible ends.
With a document published on Il Meridiano di Trieste (No. 37, cover and pag. 24, available on line) I informed judge Gullotta that Marco Morin, the ballistic expert he had appointed, was under investigation in Venice by the Court and by the Prosecution Office (examining magistrate: Casson, Prosecutor: Siclari) for his subversive connections and for rigging the evidence of the Peteano Massacre for the advantage of deviated services. Which were in the area to cultivate own criminal actions, against Euro-Atlantic interests, only to put the blame on the Untied States with the complicit favor of the Italian left wing.
Yet, that ballistic expert remained in charge until the end of the proceeding, and, as obvious from analyses of the documentation involved, ended exactly according to those environments’ wishes, thus leaving many questions that still await answers.
***
UPDATE: July 27th, 2013 article “Trieste: a Prosecutor and a Newspaper intensify a repressive campaign against Free Trieste”. Read it HERE.