Genoa. For the beating up of journalist Origone 4 police officers to be put on trial

They are accused of injury, aggravated by the use of a truncheon – The reporter of La Repubblica was covering the riot against a rally of a neo-Fascist movement

On the 3rd July 2020 in Genoa, the substitute prosecutor Gabriella Dotto requested the indictment of four police officers of the flying squad of Bolzaneto (Genoa), accused of having beaten up the journalist Stefano Origone, an editor of the newspaper La Repubblica. The journalist was beaten in Piazza Corvetto in Genoa, on May 23rd 2019 (read here).

The four officers are accused of serious injuries worsened by the use of a truncheon. The preliminary hearing is set for October 20th 2020 in front of the investigating judge Silvia Carpanini. Stefano Origone was in the square as a reporter when the police intervened to put an end to the clashes that arose from the opposition to the rally of the far-right party Casapound. The reporter was witnessing the arrest of a protester.

The journalist was hospitalized at the Galliera Hospital for treatment to his injuries. Since then he has undergone two operations on his left hand and one operation on the other. For his rehabilitation he was absent from work for eight months. Origone returned to work only at the end of January 2020 without having fully recovered the function of some fingers.

During the investigation, some police officers themselves from the flying squad voluntarily went to the Prosecutor’s Office to make statements.

The ANSA news agency reported that the policemen accused of the beating could plead guilty , offer compensation and ask to be entrusted to social services or other alternatives to fulfil their sentence.

ASP (wt)