Roggero is in prison in Bollate; his wife has submitted an application for a pardon

Mario Roggero, the jeweller from Grinzane Cavour (Cuneo), who has been definitively sentenced to 14 years and 9 months, arrived this afternoon at Bollate Prison, near Milan, where he turned himself in. When asked by journalists whether he regretted what he had done, he replied: “Yes, but with hindsight; you have to find yourself in those situations.”

The detention order was issued today by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Asti following confirmation of the conviction by the Court of Cassation.

Also this morning, his wife Mariangela Sandrone submitted a petition for a pardon on behalf of her husband. Sergio Novani, a trial analyst who coordinates the defence team alongside lawyer Stefano Marcolini, confirmed this to the Ansa news agency in a telephone interview. “The application for a pardon was sent at around 9.30 am via certified email,” he explained.

“At the same time as the application for a pardon was filed, through Mr Marcolini, a request was submitted for a stay of execution of the sentence,” said Novani. “We are awaiting a decision from the Turin Supervisory Office – which has been approached alongside the Supervisory Court – before he is imprisoned, and we are confident that the order will be issued before he is imprisoned.”

‘Apart from the specific court case involving Mario Roggero, the issue of assaults and acts of violence against shopkeepers or in private homes must obviously not be underestimated; however, this relates, if anything, to the prevention of crime and the policing of the local area. I would like to point out that the law already provides for the sacrosanct principle of self-defence, but it cannot tolerate private revenge. To claim otherwise is to undermine the foundations of the rule of law, and those who represent the institutions should be well aware of this.”