The trial was born because the representatives of the former junta considered some of his statements offensive
UDINE. “The fact does not constitute a crime.” Five words, pronounced by judge Mauro Qualizza, which yesterday restored the councilor’s serenity Alessandro Ciani, on trial for the hypothesis of the crime of defamation aggravated by the means of advertising for a statement in a press release, November 8, 2018, also published on the institutional Facebook page of the Municipality.
“I am happy with the outcome of the trial – reported Ciani reached on the phone at the end of the hearing and before joining the Council -, but I am sorry that a story that was absolutely attributable to the political controversy, which can sometimes also include a debate harder, ended up in court, when the judiciary I think has much more serious issues to address. The regret remains – the commissioner reiterated – that someone wanted to bring a matter to court that for me had already been resolved within the city council ».
The criminal proceedings were triggered by the former councilors Enrico Pizza, Mariagrazia Santoro, Cinzia Del Torre, Enzo Martines, Carlo Giacomello, Alessandro Venanzi and Pierenrico Scalettaris, all in the center-left junta that preceded the current one, who presented against Ciani ( center-right) a complaint, considering himself offended by the words that the commissioner had used in the communiqué. The purpose of the note was to announce the closure of the Ermacora and Fortunato staircase, as this is a place that has become the scene of the sale and consumption of drugs and other episodes of crime. “Considering the many requests for intervention, the reports and thanks for what we are doing – it was written in the press release -, I can say that the citizens have understood that this council is on their side and not, like the previous ones, on the side of the criminals”.
Ciani himself, at the hearing, had explained that he had not read the entire press release sent to him by the press officer of the Municipality, Francesco Chert, and trusting his professionalism he had given the ok to disseminate. And on Facebook it was published by the then head of social media management Marco Belviso.
A misunderstanding, claimed Ciani’s lawyer, Francesca Maurig, who noted the purely political value of the affair and asked for the acquittal for her client “because the fact does not exist” or because “it does not constitute a crime”, in the alternative the recognition of the prevailing generic extenuating circumstances and the application of a financial penalty.
A serious and reputational event for the lawyer Stefano Buonocore, representing the former assessors who became a civil party in the proceeding, such as to justify the request for sentencing the accused to a compensation of 3 thousand euros, as filed in a memorandum. The prosecution, in the courtroom the honorary prosecutor Marzia Gaspardis, instead asked for a fine of 500 euros.
The position of Stefano Coss from Udine, 58, also accused of defamation, was removed from the proceeding after a letter of apology addressed to the offended people who then remitted the complaint. A Coss, assisted by the lawyer Rossana De Agostini, who had already expressed his intention to compensate the plaintiffs, had been given a comment in the Fb group “Udine would be better if …” with which he insinuated that the “old council” took bribes
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