This
is an expanded version of an article published in the June 2011 issue of UK political
magazine Liberator - www.liberator.org.uk
 |
| Amanda Knox & Raffaele Sollecito |
THE ITALIAN JOB
British student Meredith Kercher was tragically murdered in Italy by a burglar. The burglar was prosecuted and found guilty, so why were students Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito also prosecuted? Why was their trial called, “a railroad job from hell” by CBS investigator Paul Ciolino? Nigel Scott explains
The application and interpretation of the
law varies considerably across Europe and
elsewhere and the extension of extradition treaties has brought this home to
people who would not normally give the justice systems of other countries a
second thought. Within the EU,
discrepancies have been highlighted by Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford, who
has campaigned for several British citizens who have become ensnared in foreign
trials.
Recent entrants to the EU have reformed
their legal systems and this has provided reassurance for travellers to the
former communist states of the East. Few
of us would think that the systems of some established members also require
comprehensive reform, but Italy
is such a state and the journey of Premier Silvio Berlusconi through the courts
will highlight this for all to see.
The problems of Italy’s leader are far removed from
those of his countrymen but the impact of the system on two young students,
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito is frightening and could easily happen to
any of us or our children.
What is different about Italian justice and
how has this shaped what has been called the ‘trial of the century’.
First and most telling, at least when
compared to the UK,
there is no ban on pre-trial publicity once a suspect is charged. Prosecutors brief favoured journalists and
drop tit bits of ‘evidence’ that may not be true and are not necessarily used in
court. This practice creates a climate
in which the accused is assumed to be guilty before the trial starts. In the words of Daily Beast blogger, Barbie
Latza Nadeau, “In a country like this it’s not really about proving guilt, it’s
about proving innocence.” This turns the
presumption of innocence on its head.
MAJOR FLAW
The second major flaw is that juries are
not sequestered. In trials that can last
a year, it is argued that this is not practical. Jurors (or lay judges, as they are called)
are encouraged to read widely and discuss the case with each other as it
proceeds. Inaccurate media reports become de facto part
of the trial. Anyone who remembers the
treatment the Daily Mail (among others) meted out to Chris Jefferies last
winter when he was arrested and released without charge during the Joanna Yates
murder investigation, will know what the tabloids can do. Jefferies is now suing six newspapers for
defamation. Knox and Sollecito were
forced to endure two years of similar character assassination by tabloid in Italy and the UK before their first guilty
verdict was announced in December 2009. They are now midway through an appeal.
The third flaw is that investigations are controlled
by the prosecutor, not the police. This approach
brings with it the danger that a prosecutor who has prematurely arrived at a
view of the crime can direct the police to pursue one line of inquiry and
ignore evidence that does not fit. In Perugia, the
investigation was under the control of Giuliano Mignini, a controversial figure
who was himself under investigation for abuse of office at the time and was
subsequently found guilty.
In Knox and
Sollecito’s case, events in the days after the murder were misinterpreted as
the theory that the murderer was close to Meredith was pursued. On the night of the murder Knox sent a text to
employer and bar owner Patrick Lumumba, ‘See you later’, in reply to his
message saying she was not needed that night.
This was interpreted as ‘See you later to murder my flat mate’. When Knox told Kercher’s friends when she met
them at the police station that the victim had been stabbed, the police supposed
that Knox could not have known unless she had participated in the murder. In fact, Knox had learned this from her
Italian flat mate in the car en route to the police station.
When Knox, who was by then locked out
of her flat because it was a murder scene, bought clean knickers, this was
interpreted as casual disregard for her dead friend. Knox and Sollecito’s phones were tapped in
the hope that they would say something incriminating. When police learned that Knox’s mother was on
her way to Italy to support
her, they arranged an all night interrogation session to break the pair and
brought in specialists from Rome, led by
Edgardo Giobbi. When CBS journalist Paul
Ciolino later said to Giobbi, “you don’t have any physical evidence, you don’t
have eyewitnesses, you don’t have a murder weapon, what do you got?” officer
Giobbi replied that he only needed to know one thing to determine guilt, “He
said, ‘I’ll tell you why…….she was eating pizza!”
 |
| Edgardo Giobbi |
The interrogations resulted
in the famous confessions, by which Knox and Sollecito were arrested. Mysteriously, they were not recorded,
although they seem to be the only interviews that were not recorded during the
whole case. The convenient absence of
recordings allowed the prosecutor to charge Knox and her parents with
‘calunnia’ (slander) when they made allegations that she had been struck. Lumumba was implicated, though he was
eventually able to clear himself when his alibi was confirmed.
Numerous
prejudicial stories then appeared in the press, referring to ‘evidence’ that
was never mentioned again. In the UK, serious
newspapers like The Times as well as the Daily Mail and others, printed stories
that would never form part of the prosecution case. A knife that did not fit the wounds was
discovered at Sollecito’s flat and a bra clasp that was recovered from the murder
scene 46 days later, were found to harbour quantities of DNA that were ‘revealed’
by overriding machine controls. This
‘low copy number’ evidence was subsequently challenged in a paper written by
forensic experts and published in the New Scientist.
“There is no ban on pre-trial publicity once a suspect is
charged. Prosecutors brief favoured
journalists and drop tit bits of ‘evidence’ that may not be true and are not
necessarily used in court.”
Thus was Knox vilified and turned from an ‘A’ student into
an out of control drug crazed psychopath. Sollecito was similarly destroyed. Many who raised questions over the prosecution approach were issued with
writs. Twelve law suits were started. Those indicted so far include Knox and both
her parents, her attorneys, and a selection of journalists. Separate action has also been taken against
Sollecito’s parents.
In April this year, the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent body that defends the rights of journalists worldwide, wrote a letter to the Italian president: “CPJ is particularly troubled by the manifest intolerance to criticism displayed by Perugia Public Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, who has filed or threatened to file criminal lawsuits against individual reporters, writers, and press outlets, both in Italy and the United States, in connection with the Kercher murder investigation as well as the investigation into the Monster of Florence serial killings.” Mignini’s action against local journalist and blogger Frank Sfarzo was singled out for particular criticism. Full details of the complaint are set out at www.cpj.org.
The real murderer, Rudy Guede, was
identified when his DNA was found on Meredith’s body, in her room and in her
purse. He had fled to Germany but was arrested there, brought
back and found guilty at a separate fast-track trial. This development did not lead to the release
of Knox and Sollecito. They remained in
the frame as alleged co-conspirators of Guede.
 |
| Rudy Guede Mug Shot |
ONLINE VILIFICATION
Meanwhile the internet gave birth to a new
phenomenon: online vilification. A group
calling itself ‘True Justice for Meredith Kercher’ and a linked chat room,
‘Perugia Murder File’ (PMF), were set up to insult the two students and members
of their families. Supporters of these
sites harassed and intimidated members of Knox’s family and friends both online
and in person in their home town of Seattle. PMF has been reported to the FBI as a source
of hate speech.
By the time the guilty verdict of the first
trial was announced, in December 2009, many observers had begun to question the
Perugian justice system. A campaign to
exonerate Knox and Sollecito coalesced around a website ‘Injustice in Perugia’.
The Wikipedia page, ‘The Murder of Meredith
Kercher’ became embroiled in controversy and many neutral editors were banned. Thirty pages of arguments in the ‘discussion’
section, delineate the battle. Frustrated supporters of Knox and Sollecito eventually
posted an online petition asking Jimbo Wales, the Wikipedia founder to
intervene.
Wales
investigated and ordered a review. He
commented, “I just read the entire article from top to bottom, and I have
concerns that most serious criticism of the trial from reliable sources has
been excluded or presented in a negative fashion.” A few days later he wrote, “I am concerned
that since I raised the issue, even I have been attacked as being something
like a ‘conspiracy theorist.” Some
biased editors left the page, but the fight on Wikipedia continues.
The tide seems to be turning and recent
victories in the courtroom over re-evaluation of the controversial DNA evidence
and witness testimony have given rise to fresh hope.
The Kercher family employed their own
prosecutor, as is permitted in Italy,
who has joined in cross examinations and also briefed the media. Innocent bar owner Lumumba was also
represented. He sought damages for
defamation from Knox.
Knox and Sollecito’s defense therefore faced
three lawyers and three legal teams as Lumumba’s case ran in parallel with the
murder trial.
As the retrial grinds slowly on, a new
judge, Claudio Hellmann, from North Italy is
directing proceedings. Knox, Sollecito
and their families pray that he will be independent and will have the courage
to instruct his ‘jurors’ to acquit.
Nigel
Scott is a Haringey Liberal Democrat Councillor and supporter of the campaign
to free Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.
