&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Italian court sentences ex-motorway executive Giovanni Castellucci in Genoa bridge collapse case")
An Italian court on Thursday sentenced the former head of Italian motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, Giovanni Castellucci to 12 years in prison over his role in the catastrophic 2018 collapse of Genoa's Morandi Bridge. A 50-metre (160-foot) high section of the bridge collapsed with as many as 35 vehicles driving across it. These vehicles plunged onto warehouses and a river below the flyover during a summer storm. It resulted in the death of 43 people. Castelluci was among the 57 who were charged for the accident.
A total of 32 people were convicted in connection with the disaster, receiving sentences ranging from just under two years up to Castellucci's 12-year maximum. Prosecutors initially sought 18 years and six months senetence before settling for 12 years. He is separately serving a six-year sentence over a previous coach crash in Avellino. While 25 others were acquitted or cleared because of the statute of limitations.
"We need to better understand the ruling; there are a large number of defendants involved," said Egle Possetti, a spokesperson for the victims who lost her sister, brother-in-law and her sister's two children in the tragedy. The courtroom was filled with 400 relatives of the victims, lawyers, journalists and members of the public.
The case has become emblematic of accountability and of the slow pace of justice in complex Italian criminal proceedings. The incident that happened on a holiday shook the Italian conscience and triggered years of investigations into the management and maintenance of its ageing infrastructure.
"This is a defeat for the truth of what happened," said Castellucci's lawyer, Giovanni Paolo Accinni.
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"It is part of a trend that has already led to Castellucci being sent to prison. The criminalisation of the chief executive cannot be the solution. We will continue to fight for his innocence," he added. Under the Italian legal system, the first instance ruling can be appealed at least twice.
