Andreotti acquitted of mafia killing charge
Former Italian premier Giulio Andreotti was formally acquitted of charges that he ordered the Mafia killing of a journalist in 1979, with the country’s highest court wiping out a previous conviction of the veteran politician.
Yesterday’s ruling came a day after prosecutors announced that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the trial.
It was the third and final move in the case after an initial 1999 acquittal and the surprise conviction in November and sentence of 24 years in prison.
Andreotti, 84, was Italy’s premier seven times. He helped write the constitution, and has sat in parliament continuously since 1948.
The Italian political world was horrified by the November ruling, and what such corruption would imply about the nation’s post-war history.
The prosecution had argued that the Mafia killed journalist Mino Pecorelli at the behest of Andreotti, who allegedly feared the journalist had dug up compromising information. Andreotti has always denied all charges.
