A court of review hearing, held to decide over Kam, Fran, Antonio, Beppe and Lorenzo ended a few hours ago. The charges that led the five comrades behind bars and banned Monica and Michela from the city were discussed, in order to decide if the measures imposed before the trial were to be modified.
Even if the hearing was held behind closed doors we learned that a large assortment of cops was in the courtroom: plain clothes officers from Porta Palazzo police station, Digos officers, screws, [prosecutors] Padalino’s and Rinaudo’s bodyguards and a bunch of carabinieri. They were all there to highlight the power that they hold in a courtroom. Power transferred through court papers and the reconstruction of that night’s events, like the events of many other nights, days and moments spent in a corner of some police station or in the streets during a police check. Anything that happens before and after, the cause and the effect, are mixed up to create a tale that is more effective on paper, the assessment of the charges and the weight of the sentence.
Nothing to be surprised about; the violence of the cops’ control in the streets is backed up by the violence of the sterile language of court papers, imprisonment and the limitation of freedom. We won’t dwell on the chronological order of that night’s events. It’s more interesting to look at what those events have provoked more generally. [Read More]