Attanasio, here's where the investigation stands three years after the ambassador was killed
The gup of Rome ordered that the two officials of the UN agency Pam, Rocco Leone and Mansour Luguru Rwagaza charged with manslaughter, should not proceed. The reason? Lack of jurisdiction due to diplomatic immunity
by Andrea Carli
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Key points
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Exactly three years ago, on 22 February 2021, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio, his carabiniere escort Vittorio Iacovacci and the World Food Programme driver Mustapha Milambo were killed in an ambush, a dramatic kidnapping attempt in the Virunga National Park area, near the village of Kibumba, near the city of Goma.
A group of local bandits consisting of at least five people, later sentenced to life imprisonment in Congo, blocked the convoy on which the diplomat was travelling. The gang demanded fifty thousand dollars to obtain a 'pass'. Money that was not, however, available to the people on board the jeeps. Hence the kidnapping attempt that ended tragically.
"I want to remember Ambassador Luca Attanasio and Carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci today, with emotion, on the third anniversary of their tragic deaths. Two servants of the State, who honoured Italy with dedication and commitment, right up to the ultimate sacrifice,' wrote Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani on X.
Rome gup: no guilty party in Attanasio's death, trial skipped
For the families of the victims, this year's anniversary is particularly bitter. Indeed, it is very recent - dating back to last week - the decision by the gup of Rome, Marisa Mosetti, to order the non-proceedings for the two officials of the UN agency Pam, Rocco Leone and Mansour Luguru Rwagaza who were charged with manslaughter. The reason? Lack of jurisdiction related to diplomatic immunity. With the Gup's order, therefore, there was a halt to proceedings that had experienced delays due to the 'status' of the two defendants.
The two PAM officials were accused by Assistant Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco of 'making false statements in order to obtain permission from the local offices of the UN Security Department, indicating in the request for authorisation for the mission, instead of the names of Ambassador Attanasio and Carabiniere Iacovacci, the names of two PAM employees, so as to mislead the offices as to the real composition of the convoy, since they had not submitted the request at least 72 hours beforehand, as required by UN protocols'.
