32 Jailed Over 2018 Italian Bridge Disaster That Killed 43

Authored by Guy Birchall via The Epoch Times,

An Italian court sentenced 32 people to a total of more than 170 years in prison on July 16, over their role in a 2018 bridge collapse that claimed the lives of 43 people.

The former head of Italian motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI), Giovanni Castellucci, received the longest sentence of 12 years in prison for his role in the disaster, which saw the Morandi motorway bridge near the city of Genoa fall apart during a rainstorm on the morning of Aug. 14, 2018.

Michele Donferri Mitelli, another former senior manager at the publicly traded motorway management company, was given an 11-year sentence, with a further 30 defendants receiving custodial sentences.

Others sentenced included managers and engineers from ASPI's engineering subsidiary SPEA, as well as former officials from Italy's Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

Of the 57 people who stood trial, a further 25 were either acquitted or cleared due to the statute of limitations, Italian outlet La Repubblica reported.

The Genoa courtroom fell silent as presiding judge Paolo Lepri read the verdicts for around 45 minutes, with 400 relatives of the victims, lawyers, journalists, and members of the public listening, Reuters reported.

Egle Possetti, president of the Committee for the Remembrance of the Morandi Bridge Victims, called the verdicts "important" and "positive."

"We believe the judges ha