Italian Prosecutor Calls For 20 Year Jail Term In Largest Asbestos Trial In Europe

The Eternit trial of Turin is the largest criminal lawsuit ever held in Europe on asbestos.

It involves more than 2000 victims related to the exposition of the asbestos produced in the four Italian plants run by Eternit resulting in the death of 1600 workers as a result of exposure to asbestos. The alleged offenses ranging from 1952 to 2008.

Unfortunately victims have been increasing by the hundreds over the past few years. Asbestos related diseases have affected and are still affecting former workers and members of the community: mesotheliomas (a cancer of the pleura or peritoneum), lung cancer and asbestosis. This ‘immense and appalling disaster' - as Public Prosecutor Guariniello described it, was documented in detail in the course of the trial.

The case which began on December the 10th, 2009, has been presided over by Chief Justice Giuseppe Casalbore, following Stephan Schmidheiny, the 64 year old Swiss billionaire and Jean Louis Marie Ghislain de Cartier de Marchienne, an 89 year old Belgian baron being committed to trial for wilful and deliberate environmental disaster, negligence and omission of safety measures.

The charges in detail are: wilful and deliberate environmental disaster (for pollution and the dumping of asbestos fibres) and deliberate and wilful failure to implement precautions in the work place.

The Public Prosecutor also added three more charges: permanent disqualification from any public office, ban from any contract (and negotiation) with a public administration or agency and disqualification from any company management position for 10years.

At the 50th hearing of the Eternit trial, held last week, the Public Prosecutor asked for a very heavy sentence for the company owners and top management saying:

"I have never witnessed a disaster such as this, affecting communities and workers and which will continue to reap deaths for time to come."

The Public Prosecutor asked for a sentencing of  20 years each for both the top managers of the company accused of wilful and malicious disaster.

Chief Justice Guariniello explained:

“I re-read the sentences the High Court pronounced in the most severe cases of disaster and deaths, and I realised there was nothing which compared to a disaster such as the one re-lived in the course of this trial. A disaster which affected communities of workers and citizens and which continues to kill people in Italy and in other countries of the world.”

The PP’s requests took into consideration ‘the incredible seriousness of the damaged caused’, and evidence of "wilful and direct intent".
 
He concluded by saying:

“In spite of the defendants being aware and able to foresee the risk, they consciously accepted the risk and the possible outcome of the events. The defendants’ propensity to commit crimes is proven by their failing to disclose the dangerousness of the material used and the impact such material would have on the community, thus laying the foundations for an appalling disaster.”

 The sentence is expected this Autumn.

Source: Asbestos Victims Families Casale / Asbestos In The Dock web blog

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