Relatives of Italy's Covid-19 dead approach prosecutors seeking justice

From left, Laura Capella, Nicoletta Bosica, Stefano Fusco and Arianna Dalba hold pictures of their relatives, victims of Covid-19, as they stand in front of Bergamo's court. Picture: Antonio Calanni/AP

From left, Laura Capella, Nicoletta Bosica, Stefano Fusco and Arianna Dalba hold pictures of their relatives, victims of Covid-19, as they stand in front of Bergamo's court. Picture: Antonio Calanni/AP

Published Jun 10, 2020

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Rome - Relatives of Covid-19 victims in Bergamo, Italy's most

infected province, took legal action on Wednesday in search of

justice for their dead.

Members of the "Noi Denunceremo" (We will press charges) association,

born out of a Facebook group, filed 50 individual criminal complaints

before the Bergamo prosecutors' office.

"We are all from the Bergamo area and we all have similar stories,

stories of family tragedies, and we are all seeking clear and serious

answers from prosecutors," Cristina Longhini told dpa.

Longhini and other relatives are not pressing charges against

specific individuals or institutions, but are convinced that many

people died due to official negligence and incompetence.

Many of the complaints cite authorities' failure to seal off Alzano

Lombardo and Nembro, two towns on the outskirts of Bergamo that were

virus clusters in early March, according to a lawyer for the group.

They also mention the rushed reopening of the emergency room of

Alzano Lombardo's hospital, after the first Covid-19 cases were

diagnosed there, citing it as having contributed to the epidemic.

"It will be up to judicial authorities to assess the complaints," the

lawyer, Consuelo Locati, was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency.

"It won't be a quick investigation given the sensitivity of the

matter."

Longhini lost her 65-year-old father in March.

When he got sick, the family doctor refused to visit him at home, and

ambulances were not available to take him to hospital for several

days. When he was finally hospitalized, he was beyond saving.

dpa

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