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Repubblica
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Genoa, a cop tells what happened in the Mobile Operative Group centre
of the penitentiary the night of the beatings in Bolzaneto the
Gom's (Gruppo Operativo Mobile) lager "Kicks, punches, insults:
constitutional rights were suspended. And kept saying: "relax,
we are covered"
(Marco Preve reports)
GENOA - A policeman from the Mobile
Group of Bolzaneto, of whom Repubblica knows the name and rank
but won't reveal any details for privacy reasons, tells of the
G8 "chilean night". "Unfortunately it's all true. Even
more. I still have in my nostrills the stench of those hours, that
of the feaces of the arrested which weren't allowed to use the
toilets. But that night started a week before, when about a
hundred of agents came from the Operative Group centre of the penitentiary
to Bolzaneto".
It's the first of many hidden details of the dramatic G8's Saturday.
Our
interviewee confess "there's still so much fascism in the police
force, there's the subculture of so many young easily influenced,
and those of ours who that night applauded. But it was them,
those from the penitentiary GOM that ahve done the
butchering".
And the systematic beatings at the school? "That's ours. There's
who says it was a retortion, who instead that the order coming
from Rome was precise: to arrest with any means. The raid has
been done from the colleagues from the Rome department, the
"celerini" from the capitol. And to direct them were the top
level of SCO and NOCS (special police/army forces), not the Genoa
central. It was pure folly. Both for the victims that for our
image, and for risking a riots too. That night at the police
central there was who sweared because if the news was to reach
those 20 thousand abpout to leave from Brignole station,
we'd have risk a riot".
The transformation of Bolzaneto jail into a "lager" starts
on Monday, with the arrival of the GOM, special department
established in 1997 with an ex general of SISDE (italian secret
service) as leader, who was already the author of tough intervention
in the Opera jail. Once arrived - dressed with grey-green mimetics, the
black multipocket jacket, handcuffs and batons, and the receivers
attached to the shoulder - they take control of part of the building,
which had been adapted as prison a couple of weeks before the
summit for the arrests to be carried at the G8.
The gym had been adapted as first recognition centre. All the arrested
are brought here, who's got ID shows them, all are fingerprinted.
Next to the gym, on the left, near the tennis camp, there's a
small building that was the jail itself.
There are two big rooms at the entrance. Here, from Saturday night
until late Sunday morning, resides the vice-director of the
genovese DIGOS, with other cops from the office and a few
carabinieri.
"What happened in the school and carried on here at Bolzanetto
was a
suspension of human rights, a void of the Constitution. I tried to
talk to
colleagues and you know what they answered: we don't have to worry,
because we are covered."
That night. "the gate opened costantly - tells the cop - from the
police vans those kids came out and got beaten up. They kept them
standing against the walls. Once inside they threw them headfirst
against the wall. They piss on some of them and beat them up if
they didn't sing "fascetta nera" (a fascist hymn). A girl
kept puking blood and the GOM stood watching. They threated girls of
rape with the batons... there's no point in telling you what I
already have read".
And you, the others? "There weren't many of us. The main group
was still at Genoa to control the red zone. Anyway some approved,
some other intervened instead, like a DC who stopped the beatings
saying "this is not your home". And there was who like
me perhaps did very little, and now is ashamed". And if the GOM
weren't there? "I don't think that butchering would have
happened. Our director is tough but he's one of those
old-fashioned, who have the cult of honour and knows how to
educate his people, we call him Rommel".
Whatever happend to the democratic policemen? "We are still many
- replies the cop - but today we are scared and ashamed".
(26 July 2001)
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