NORMAN ATLANTIC

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Three of 32 defendants condemned

On Oct 7, 2023, the Court of Bari has decided to condemn three of the 32 defendants at the end of the trial for the fire aboard the 'Norman Atlantic' in the night of Dec 27, 2014, off the coast of Albania, causing the death of 31 people and the injury of 64 passengers. In particular, the captain, Argilio Giacomazzi, was sentenced to six years of imprisonment, while the 1st engineer, Gianluca Assante, received a sentence of 5 years and 4 months prisoin. Finally, three years in prison were decided for the crew member Francesco Nardulli. The prosecutor had asked for 23 sentences, ranging between nine years and three months in prison, as well as an acquittal. Other acquittals and the statute of limitations for some crimes were ordered. The Court of Bari then excluded the responsibility of the shipping companies, both the owner and the operator. In the sentence of the second criminal section, on administrative charges, the responsibility of the Visemar di Navigazione srl, the owner company, and of Anek, the company that operated the ferry, was excluded. For both, the non-existence of the alleged offenses was declared. The shipwreck of the Norman Atlantic occurred on the night between 27 and 28 December 2014, off the coast of Albania, .

Sentences on appeal were halved for four defendants

The sentences on appeal were halved for four defendants for the fire aboard the 'Norman Atlantic', which were then converted into fines because they involved culpable offences. Another, Dimosthenis Sotiropoulos, was instead acquitted by the Court of Piraeus with a sentence that became final. This was pointed out by the lawyers Mario Scopesi and Nicola Scognamillo, during the trial for the disaster that occurred off the Albanian coast in the night of Dec 127, 2014, and caused the death of 31 people and injured 64 others. According to the lawyers, the position of Ioanni Verdinoyannis, Pavlos Fantakis, Georgios Katsavenaki, Lazaros Chatzavramidis and Sotiropoulos himself should be reviewed in Italy precisely in the light of the decision of the Greek judges. Verdinoyannis, legal representative of Anek (the charter company of the ferry), is accused of shipwreck and multiple manslaughter with the aggravating circumstance of conscious guilt, prosecutors Ettore Cardinali and Federico Perrone Capano have asked for nine years in prison for him. For Fantakis, supervisor on board of the same chartering company, and Katsavenaki (legal representative of Anek) the request is eight years. Lastly, for Chatzavramidis, the prosecutor's request is eight years' imprisonment.

Prosecutors ask for sentences up to nine years prison

Argilio Giacomazzi, once the master of the 'Norman Atlantic' has been asked for a nine year prison sentence by the prosecutors of Bari, Ettore Cardinali and Federico Perrone Capano, at the end of a two-day indictment. The same request was also presented for Carlo Visentini, legal representative of the company Visemar di Navigazione, the owner of the ferry, and for Ioanni Vardinogianni, legal representative of Anek lines, charterer of the ferry. For the three, the two prosecutors also made the request for perpetual disqualification from public offices. Overall, the Bari public prosecutor's office asked for 23 sentences - with sentences ranging from nine years to three months' imprisonment - and one acquittal. For the crimes of shipwreck and multiple homicide, the prosecutors asked for an 8-year sentence for Georgios Katsavenaki, legal representative of Anek, and Pavlos Fantakis, supervisor on board of the same company. 7 years were requested for Gianluca Assante, first officer of the engine, and Antonio Gadaleta, electrician on board, and 6 years for Luigi Iovine, first officer and head of safety on board. For all of them, the prosecutors have asked for a perpetual ban. For some crew members, accused of manslaughter for some of the deaths, a request has been made for sentences ranging from four to three years in prison. For four other crew members, however, the Public Prosecutor's Office asked for sentences of between three months and three years' imprisonment solely for contraventions of the navigation code. The prosecutors also filed an application for the two companies charged to be sentenced to pay fines, quantified at 400,000 Euros for Visemar (with the extenuating circumstance of having compensated the victims; ed) and 600,000 Euros for Anek. At the same hearing, the requests of the civil parties were also filed. The next hearings, scheduled for Dec 14 and 21, will see the defense of Giacomazzi and the Anek group give a speech.