Verdict expected in Andreotti 'mafia' trial
Italy’s highest court was expected to rule today on whether former Premier Giulio Andreotti’s record should be fully cleared of lingering accusations that he aided the Mafia while in power decades ago.
The decision in an appeals court will be the third and final judgment in the case.
Andreotti has already been acquitted twice, in 1999 and in 2003. In the last ruling, however, the appellate judges said while they believed Andreotti had friendly ties with mobsters decades ago, they found no evidence that he had associated with the Mafia after 1980. They said the statute of limitations had run out on any criminal association before 1980.
Seeking to fully clear his name, Andreotti has appealed for a ruling of full innocence. In two hours of arguments yesterday, defence lawyer Franco Coppi urged the court to opt for “a pronouncement of absolution”, the ANSA news agency reported.
Prosecutor Mauro Iacoviello, however, recommended Andreotti should be acquitted for lack of evidence. Such a ruling would fall short of the defence’s request.
Andreotti, a Christian Democrat who served as premier seven times and is currently a senator-for-life, has always said he was framed by mobsters seeking revenge for his government’s crackdowns on organised crime. The Christian Democrats ruled for four decades in post-war Italy.
In a separate Mafia-related case, Italy’s highest court last year acquitted Andreotti of charges he ordered the Mafia killing of a journalist in 1979. The ruling, which was the final one, wiped out a previous conviction on the same charges that had shocked Italy.
