Ustica: Rome magistrate revokes request to dismiss the case; new investigations to go ahead
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has reopened the case on the basis of French documentation, with the aim of definitively establishing who was responsible for the 1980 tragedy
The investigating judge at the Court of Rome, Livio Sabatini, has returned the case files relating to the proceedings concerning the Ustica air disaster of 27 June 1980 to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and ordered further investigations. The decision comes after Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi withdrew his request to have the case dismissed, in light of France’s willingness to transfer all documentation relating to the disaster to Italia. On that evening, the Itavia DC-9 crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea, killing 81 people.
Investigating judge: ‘Returning case files is the most sensible solution to facilitate swift investigations’
“The admissibility of the application (of the application to dismiss the case, ed.) is the most reasonable solution, facilitating a hoped-for swift and thorough investigation with a view to bringing the trial phase of the two criminal proceedings to a conclusion, either by confirming the application to dismiss the case or by proceeding with criminal prosecution”. This was emphasised by the investigating magistrate in Rome, Livio Sabatini, in the order in which he directed the immediate return to the public prosecutor’s office of the documents relating to the proceedings concerning the Ustica air disaster.
“Having found the withdrawal of the application to dismiss the case to be admissible, and having regard to the public prosecutor’s request for the return of the case files and the absence of any further requests to the investigating judge, the case files must be returned immediately to the public prosecutor for him to take the necessary action within his remit,” writes the judge.
France: ‘No outstanding requests from Italy regarding Ustica’
The French Embassy wishes to make it clear that the French authorities are not aware of any outstanding requests for mutual legal assistance (regarding the Ustica case, ed.) and that they would be very grateful if the Italian authorities could clarify whether, for their part, they have identified any outstanding requests. This is stated in the order issued by the investigating magistrate in Rome who, in granting the prosecution’s request, returned the files relating to the investigation into the massacre and revoked the request to dismiss the case. In particular, the order states: “The French Embassy specifies that two documents were forwarded in 1986 and 1990 by the French Ministry of Defence to its Italian counterpart, and expressly rules out any previous reluctance to provide mutual legal assistance.”
