The prosecutor had asked for life imprisonment: “He was like a crazed bull, he hit him on the head when he was helpless”. And in his conclusions he had mentioned the Willy case: “Like him killed by MMA experts”
For the murder of Niccolò Ciatti, the 22-year-old from Scandicci (Florence) who died in Spain in 2017 due to a kick to the head received without any reason during an evening in a Spanish discotheque, Chechen Rassoul Bissoultanov was sentenced to 23 years. The decision of the judges comes, in the Rebibbia bunker hall, after three hours of deliberation. Bissoultanov, yes convicted in Spain at 15 for the voluntary murder of the young man, turns out to be a fugitive. For this heinous murder, the prosecutor had asked for life imprisonment.
The judges reaffirmed the accusation of voluntary homicide but excluded any aggravating circumstances against the defendant, currently on the run.
The father: “A unique cruelty against Niccolò” “A 23-year sentence has been recognized. It is certainly not the life sentence we thought this murderer could get. It is certainly a more significant sentence than the Spanish one. I believe that the court has recognized some extenuating circumstances that I honestly understand little”. Luigi Ciatti, father of
Niccolo, after the sentence. With difficulty holding back tears, he explained: “I think what Bissoultanov did towards Niccolò was of unique cruelty. With that kick he deliberately hit him to kill. This has been our thought since day one, since we saw that video and we must continue to try to do what is right, that is to give justice to Niccolò”.
Then Luigi said: “We will evaluate whether to present a further appeal here in Italy as we are doing in Spain. We are never satisfied or happy. The real, innocent convict was in the first place my son and consequently we who we survive him with that bitterness that only a parent who loses a child can have”.
Prosecutor: “Life imprisonment is the only sentence he deserves” “Sentencing Rassoul Bissoultanov to life imprisonment for the murder of Niccolò Ciatti. Acknowledging the criminal responsibility of the defendant and imposing the maximum sentence, that of life imprisonment. It is the only sentence he deserves. This will not give Niccolò back to his parents, but it will give us a sense of justice. You will not have to allow extenuating circumstances.” This is the conclusion of the indictment with which the prosecutor Erminio Amelio expressed himself before the judges of the capital’s court of assizes.
Ciatti, European arrest warrant issued for Rassoul Bissoultanov
“That night they were banging like madmen” Prosecutor Amelio in his speech had retraced what happened in the nightclub in Lloret de Mar (Spain) where Niccolò was shot. “Both Bissoultanov and his other comrades ‘beat like madmen’ explained more texts. The Chechens used ‘inhuman force’, a ‘blind violence which they distributed left and right'”. The public prosecutor then explained: “The texts are very reliable. Their statements are genuine, detailed, circumstantial. They report events that occurred under their direct perception. They did not speak to please Niccolò or his parents. They spoke out of love of the truth”.
And “already this witness account would be enough to establish a conviction”, but the video of the circuit inside the disco is so eloquent that it leaves no doubt”. The magistrate then invited to look at the images by reading the testimonies together. “C ‘it’s a total overlap, it’s the same film”. Bissoultanov, however, acted like “a mad bull, with his eyes bulging”. And the kick given to Niccolò’s head when the young man from Scandicci was already on the ground, it was delivered with the instep, with blind ferocity and a typical MMA fighting technique”.
Niccolo had done nothing Prosecutor Amelio recalled that in the trial records there are documents proving that Bissoultanov was an MMA wrestling athlete. “He was a lover and practitioner of this fighting technique,” he added. “A coach of him explained that the defendant was an excellent athlete, and had not been able to participate in the Olympics for France due to problems related to citizenship”. And what did the victim do? – Amelio wondered – “Niccolo and his friends had only had a few drinks, but the level of alcohol in the blood allowed them to drive calmly. And it should be underlined, watching the video of the beating, Niccolò Ciatti did not insult or attack anyone. He wasn’t drunk or under the influence of drugs.”
“The Chechen deliberately hit on the head to hurt” “Did the defendant want to kill? The kick was absolutely gratuitous. Niccolò was helpless on the ground. Why did he kick him again? Why in the head? Go and see the still image. Because that kick to the head expresses the precise will to do harm. Go and see those images in their crudeness”. Then he underlined: “The will to do badly can also be understood from the attempt to argue with the club’s security personnel. That kick is a definitive gesture”.
“Niccolo Killed as Willy” “The defendant wanted to kill Niccolo, I gave myself an answer. In the defendant there was the will to concretely carry out what happened. Even under the formula of possible fraud, Bissoultanov accepted the risk that with his conduct could occur”. The magistrate then recalled the case of Willy Monteiro Duarte. “He too was the victim of a violent action, in a beating, and with blows prepared thanks to the Mma technique”.