Eternit-bis: the Court of Cassation orders a fresh appeal for Schmidheiny
The charges relating to the deaths of 25 of the victims have been time-barred. The appeal trial will concern around sixty further deaths attributed to exposure to asbestos
Key points
There is to be a new appeal trial for former tycoon Stephan Schmidheiny in connection with the Eternit case. This is the decision of the Court of Cassation, which has also ruled that the statute of limitations applies in relation to the deaths of 25 people. The new appeal hearing will, however, concern some sixty other deaths recorded as a result of asbestos pollution. The Attorney General’s Office had sought confirmation of the defendant’s sentence of nine years and six months, in relation to the charge of multiple counts of aggravated manslaughter for the deaths of 91 people in Casalese. In the view of the Attorney General of the Court of Cassation in the proceedings relating to the Eternit case, in fact, “the procedural issues raised by the defence are unfounded,” said the Attorney General before the judges of the Fourth Section. ‘The judgement of the Turin Court of Assizes of Appeal is well-reasoned and provides procedural protection for the right to life,’ the Public Prosecutor added, requesting that the defence’s appeal be declared inadmissible.
Decision following 6 hours of deliberation
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Eternit case and the charges against businessman Stephan Schmidheiny came after more than 6 hours of deliberation. The president of the Fourth Section read out the judgement in a courtroom packed with relatives of the victims, who remained in complete silence. The verdict will refer the case of the so-called ‘killer factory’ in Casale Monferrato back to another section of the Turin Court of Appeal for a fresh assessment. The proceedings will concern around 60 people who died as a result of asbestos pollution and mesothelioma. For a further 25, the statute of limitations has been definitively applied; this, together with the failure to establish criminal liability on the part of Schmidheiny, represents a substantial victory for the defence lawyers, who, just over a year ago, had succeeded in having the proceedings set aside because the second-instance judgement had not been translated into German. Stephan Schmidheiny had managed the Eternit factory in Casale from 1976 to 1986.
The Association of Families of Asbestos Victims before the Court of Cassation
The judges of the Court of Cassation have re-examined the matter, following the quashing of the first appeal proceedings due to the failure to translate into German the judgement by which the Turin judges had convicted the businessman for the deaths caused by asbestos in Casale Monferrato, a town in the province of Alessandria. Schmidheiny managed the Eternit plant for ten years, from 1976 to 1986. The tycoon is charged with multiple counts of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the deaths of 91 people. For a further 300 victims, the charges had been dropped following acquittals and the expiry of the limitation period in the lower courts. A delegation from the Association of Families of Asbestos Victims (Afeva) in Casale Monferrato was also present at the Court of Cassation. A banner bearing the words “Justice – Research – Remediation” was displayed in Piazza Cavour.
The former deputy mayor: people are still dying in Casale
“People are still dying in Casale Monferrato. Almost 50 people a year. So far, there have been 3,000 victims.” This is what Gianni Crisafulli, former deputy mayor of the Piedmontese town where the Eternit factory was in operation until a few years ago, said this morning. Together with a large delegation of citizens, he is outside the Court of Cassation this morning for the trial of the company’s former owner, Stephan Schmidheiny.
“My father,” said Crisafulli, “died of mesothelioma, even though he didn’t work for the company. In this trial alone, the number of victims stands at 330 citizens and 62 former workers. “We are talking about defenceless people, citizens who unwittingly lost their lives because of the use of asbestos.” Many people this morning are wearing the symbol of Afeva, the Association of Families and Victims of Asbestos, around their necks.
