A special Lower House 'jury of
honour' was sworn in on Wednesday to probe comments made by
Giovanni Donzelli, an MP for Premier Giorgia Meloni's Brothers
of Italy (FdI) party, over the case of jailed anarchist Alfredo
Cospito.
The 'jury of honour' is an investigative panel set up when a
lawmaker says their reputation has been harmed by accusations
made during a parliamentary debate.
The Democratic Party (PD) requested one be set up in relation to
statements Donzelli made about a visit four of the centre-left
group's lawmakers paid to Cospito, who has been on hunger strike
for over 100 days to protest against the tough 41 bis jail
regime he is being held under.
Donzelli also revealed that Cospito had talked to mafia bosses
about getting the 41 bis, which is usually applied to mobsters,
abolished.
During the debate Donzelli, a member of the Copasir
parliamentary committee that oversees Italy's intelligence
services, asked whether the PD was on the side of the State or
that of the mafia and terrorists.
Justice Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove, Donzelli's
flat mate, was the source of the information.
Delmastro subsequently fuelled the row by saying that the PD
lawmakers had given in to Cospito's demand that they meet other
people being held under the 41 bis, including two mafia bosses,
as a condition for the encounter with him.
The PD has demanded Delmastro and Donzelli quit their
institutional positions for, among other things, revealing
allegedly secret information.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, however, has said that the
information was not classified.
The jury of honour will start holding hearings next week and it
is set to present its findings by March 10.
The supreme Court of Cassation is expected to end Cospito's 41
bis in a hearing on February 24 after its prosecutor general
recommended doing so, while the Constitutional Court is also set
to weigh the case after Nordio rejected Cospito's appeal.
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