|
Antonello Lovato, 39, has been accused of abandoning the injured
and bleeding Satnam Singh, 31, and failing to call an ambulance
following the incident in Latina, a largely agricultural
province south of Rome, on June 17, 2024. Prosecutors originally
considered charging Lovato with manslaughter, but raised it to
murder with malice after the fact since he was aware the actions
could cause death.
At the opening of his murder trial on Tuesday, Lovato said that
“he lost his head,'' when he saw Singh, who was working in the
country illegally, bleeding. ”I wasn't myself. I didn't want him
to die,'' he was cited by the news agency ANSA as saying.
Outside the court, dozens of union members, including Sikh
workers wearing turbans, demonstrated against the system of
exploitative, underpaid migrant labor in Italy's agricultural
sector, called, “caporalato.''
“I believe that what happened was apparent to everyone,''
Maurizio Landini, the secretary-general of the powerful CGIL
trade union federation, told the crowd. "As is the logic of
exploitation known as ‘ caporalato,’ which allows for people to
be treated like merchandise, like parts of a machine that can be
easily bought and sold for the lowest price. And I insist that
it is this culture that needs to be changed.”
The CGIL is joining the prosecution as civil complainants,
Landini was cited by the LaPresse news agency as saying. Under
Italian law, parties recognized by the court as injured in the
commission of crime can join the prosecution, question witnesses
and possibly win damage awards in the case of conviction.
“We think it is important to seek justice, above all to put in
motion everything necessary to change the way of doing business
so episodes like this can never be repeated,’’ Landini said. “We
don’t think this is an isolated case. It is a mistake to think
this problem can be resolved with this trial. We are worried
because the season is starting again.’’
The trial continues May 27.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
