Death of Carlo Giuliani

Carlo Giuliani (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkarlo dʒuˈljani]; 14 March 1978 – 20 July 2001) was an Italian anti-globalization protester who was shot dead by a police officer while attacking him and his vehicle during the demonstrations against the Group of Eight summit that was held in Genoa from July 19 to July 21, 2001.

Carlo Giuliani, born in Rome, was the son of Giuliano Giuliani, a CGIL trade union activist, and Haidi Giuliani, who after his death would become a Senator for the Communist Refoundation Party. On July 20, 2001, Giuliani was participating in a protest against the 27th Group of Eight summit in Genoa, Italy, when he was killed during a violent clash between protesters and Italian Carabinieri in Piazza Alimonda. A Carabinieri vehicle, with two officers inside, became stuck and was attacked by protesters, wielding metal poles and wooden boards. In the midst of this clash, Giuliani, who was wearing a blue ski mask, picked up a fire extinguisher, and raised it to throw it at the vehicle. He was shot in the face at point-blank range by the Carabiniere Mario Placanica. Giuliani was also run over by a Land Rover and may have been alive when it happened.

In the case against Carabiniere Mario Placanica, evidence was given by a ballistics expert that the fatal bullet had "ricocheted off plaster". All charges against Mario Placanica were dropped when Judge Daloiso, who presided over the case, concluded that the fatal bullet that struck Giuliani was not directly aimed at Giuliani, and ruled that Placanica had acted in self-defense. The case was not taken to trial.

However, during a later trial in Genoa of some demonstrators allegedly involved in clashes the same day Giuliani was killed, the same forensic doctor, professor Marco Salvi, who had been a consultant to Silvio Franz, the prosecutor who led the case against Mario Placanica, testified that Giuliani had been the victim of a "direct hit", thus contradicting the evidence previously given and laying doubt on the decision made based on the alleged change of direction of the bullet. The conclusion of Judge Daloiso, which had already been subjected to strong criticism, was challenged by the press, as was the decision not to charge the driver of the Land Rover for running over Giuliani on the basis that he was already dead. Medics tending to Giuliani after he was run over testified that his heart was still beating, and this was confirmed by professor Salvi during the trial in Genoa. To confuse the situation further, in late 2003 Placanica told the Bologna daily Il Resto Del Carlino that "I've been used to cover up the responsibility of others." He claimed that the bullet found in Giuliani's body was not of the caliber or type fired by the pistols of the Carabinieri, and claimed the deadly shot had come from somewhere in the piazza outside. After making this statement, Placanica was involved in a "suspicious" car accident, days after allegedly observing someone tampering with his car. Placanica was allegedly kept in seclusion following the incident, and his parents were not allowed to visit him in the hospital.

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