Genoa, November 17

Ninth hearing in the trial against 29 top police officials, charged with grievous bodily harm, falsifying evidence and fabricating charges, following the raid on the complex known as the "Diaz schools"

A journalist with the daily 'Il Resto del Carlino' was today's witness, recounting his memory of events on the night of Saturday July 21, 2001. Lorenzo Guadagnacci, who travelled to Genoa for personal reasons, was in the gym on the ground floor of the building when police broke down the doors. He was later taken to hospital.

His testimony was clear, simple and coherent.

Having dropped off his things at the school complex at around 8pm, he returned at 10pm and fell asleep. Shortly afterwards, he was woken by noise and shouting. The police then burst into the gym, where he had set up his sleeping bag together with others.

"I saw groups of officers run into the building, shouting. They immediately headed for the people at the front on the long end of the gym," he recalled. "These first agents started kicking and clubbing people with batons. I remember they were spitting and saying things like: 'This is the last G8 you'll ever do' and 'This evening you'll have a little less fun'."

Guadagnacci was then himself beaten, first by two officers, then again by a third, even though he was already "far beyond being able to fight" at that point.

Under guard in hospital the next day, with lacerations and contusions on his back and chest, he learned from a newspaper that he had been arrested for conspiracy to commit destruction and looting.

Charges were later dropped against every single one of the 93 activists arrested that night.

The defence produced only weak arguments, seeking to make the witness nervous. His replies confirmed what he had already said during questioning by the public prosecutor. He saw no one injured before the raid. But given he was on the ground floor, wasn't it possible there were people upstairs, they asked? The presiding judge cut short this line of questioning, pointing out it was obvious. The behaviour of the defence lawyers highlighted their difficulties in a trial that seems unarguably clear in terms of the blows, violence and psychological abuse inflicted by the police that night. Their sniggers during the descriptions of violence leads one to conclude they are no better than the defendants they are representing.

Transcript and summary (in Italian):
http://italy.indymedia.org/news/2005/11/923927.php