JUSTICE IN ITALY

Northern Advocate, 26 March 1926, Page 4

JUSTICE IN ITALY

The verdict in the case in which the five men were charged with the murder of Matteotti, a Socialist member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, will not enhance the reputation of justice in Italy. The whole proceedings seem to have been a farce, and this belief has been heightened by the arguments adduced by counsel during the last stages of the trial. The circumstances of the case may be summed up in a few words. About two years ago, Matteotti, a Socialist Deputy, strongly antagonistic to Fascism, was kidnapped when proceeding to the Chamber to fake part in an important debate. Some time later his mutilated body was found. Five men were eventually arrested. After remaining in custody for twenty one months, they were brought to trial a few days ago. One man—Dumini — assumed the whole responsibility, confessing to kidnapping Matteotti, but not to murdering him, though he disposed of the body after death had taken place. The whole purpose of the trial seems to have been an endeavour by judge and bar to prove that even if Matteotti were murdered he deserved it because of his attitude towards Fassiem. As Matteotti was the victim of kidnapping by Fascists, and as Fascists hold Italy in an iron grip, the reason for the long delay in bringing the men to trial, the farcical nature of the trial itself, and the extraordinary sentences, are understandable. Such a combination of circumstances would be impossible in a British country. It reveals Fascist methods in an unenviable light.