The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy for the death of Riccardo Magherini, which occurred in Florence on the night of 3 March 2014, while the man lay on the ground immobilized by the Carabinieri. In the ruling, the judges state that the Italian state is responsible for the death because there was no “absolute necessity” to keep Riccardo Magherini immobilized on the ground.
In the sentence the Court did not enter into the merits of either the responsibility of the Carabinieri or their acquittal at the end of the proceedings which took place in Italy.
The “guidelines in force at the time did not contain clear and adequate instructions on the positioning of people in the prone position in order to minimize risks to health and life”, and “there was a lack of training for law enforcement officers to ensure that they possess the necessary level of competence in the use of immobilization techniques, such as the prone position, which could put lives at risk”, explains the Strasbourg Court. The ECHR has established that the Italian State will have to pay the family members 140 thousand euros for moral damages.
Magherini – a former footballer who was then 39 years old – died in the night between 2 and 3 March 2014 following a cardiac arrest while, following an arrest, the Carabinieri kept him immobilized on the ground. According to the investigations, that night Magherini was in the grip of a panic attack, also due to the intake of narcotic substances. before being stopped he had argued with a taxi driver and some residents and had broken the glass door of a room. At that point the Carabinieri arrived. The Court of Cassation acquitted the three soldiers, not holding them responsible for Magherini’s death.
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