Final sentence of eight years – for attempted murder aggravated by racial hatred – for Francesco Abbruzzese alias “Cicciotto”. The sixth criminal section of the Court of Cassation declared the appeal presented by the defendant’s defense inadmissible, thus confirming the sentence pronounced in November last year by the Court of Appeal of Catanzaro which in turn confirmed the one issued in March by the Gup of the Castrovillari court. The events occurred on 20 June 2023. It was just after 8pm when a group of five young people from Cassano – who will be identified in the following days – in via Ponte del Treno (formerly the Station Ring Road), in the urban area of Cassano, attacked two Gambian citizens with kicks and punches and with the use of iron clubs.
The two non-EU citizens were seriously injured. Abbruzzese – according to the reconstruction later supported in the subsequent hearing investigations – was part of the group and, according to what was ascertained by the investigators, he participated in the beating and insulted the victims with racist phrases. The same words – “blacks, sons of b…, you have to get out of here” – were also referred to by the Supreme Court as proof of the discriminatory motive.
The event took place under the eyes of numerous citizens, spectators of the unprecedented violence of the group of thugs who acted in front of children, elderly people and couples of young boys out for a walk. Investigations were carried out immediately by the soldiers of the Carabinieri Company of Cassano who reconstructed what happened with the testimonies of those present and the video surveillance footage.
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