Nicola Calipari
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Nicola Calipari (June 23, 1953, Reggio Calabria - March 4, 2005, Iraq) was an Italian military intelligence officer with the rank of Major General. Calipari was killed by United States soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport.
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[edit] Career
Calipari, who was married and had two children, spent most of his career with the Italian police, rising to prominent positions, before joining the Italian military Security and Intelligence Service (SISMI) two years before his death. In 1994, he organized a free help line for gay and lesbian victims of violence and discrimination in Rome. During the nineties he was involved in many rescues of persons kidnapped by 'Ndrangheta and other criminal organizations.
[edit] Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena
Nicola Calipari, along with Andrea Carpani, liberated in undisclosed circumstances Giuliana Sgrena from her captors. On the way back to Baghdad International Airport, the Toyota Corolla they were travelling in came under fire, in disputed conditions, by US soldiers that had set up a blocking position to protect the convoy transporting the US ambassador, John Negroponte.
According to the reconstruction of Giuliana Sgrena [1], Calipari threw himself on her, and shortly after died (shot in his temple). A Coalition's report permitted to identify the killer in New York State National Guardsman Mario Lozano, a member of the 1st Battalion of the 69th Infantry Regiment (of the Third Infantry Division).
[edit] Reactions in Italy
The SISMI has had a dark story of subversion in Italy, and its reputation was never good among left-wing circles. Because of this, sorrow for Calipari's death united the nation, as a member of a "suspicious" police force had given his life protecting a declared communist.
Tens of thousands of Italian citizens paid their respects to Calipari, who had become a national hero, at the state funeral on March 8, 2005, at Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome.
He was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor by President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on March 22, 2005 [2].
[edit] Judicial Investigation
Italian prosecutors are now actively seeking to interview Lozano as part of their criminal investigation into Calipari's death. [3]
On December 22, 2005 the special prosecutors of the Magistrate's service of Rome announced that they were considering charging Lozano with voluntary manslaughter. [4]
On January 18, 2006, it was reported that the prosecutors had decided to charge Lozano with murder. The prosecutors indicated that despite making over twenty formal requests to the United States, they refused to formally identify Lozano. After confirming Lozano's identity, the Magistrate service appointed an attorney to represent Lozano during the charging process. If Lozano does not accept service of process and appear at his upcoming trial, he will be tried in absentia. [5]
[edit] Political Implications
Calipari's death caused a major international incident, since Calipari, a highly decorated SISMI agent, had become a national hero in Italy. As a result, there was significant pressure on the government of Italy to publicly support another investigation into the shooting, this time being conducted by prosecutors.
Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi indicated in Parliament on May 5, 2005 that the government remains fully committed to supporting the ongoing judicial investigation into Calipari's death. One of the most prominent leaders of the opposition in the lower house of parliament, Piero Fassino, called for the United States to facilitate cooperation with the investigation, indicating that they believe the U.S. Army should produce Lozano for questioning by the magistrates. [6]
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, head of the Italian Federation of the Greens, indicated that should the United States fail to cooperate with this investigation by allowing Lozano to be questioned, he would push for a hearing at the International Court of Justice[7].
However, the non-Italian media are reporting that it is unlikely that Italy will seek to try Lozano in absentia, should the U.S. not render him to Italian custody, which is contrary to American policy. It is likely that this decision will not be made on purely legal grounds, because of the political interest of the Berlusconi government's desire to maintain a firm alliance with the United States. However, the investigating magistrates will probably continue their investigation, with the aim of producing a more detailed reconstruction of the events that occurred at the mobile roadblock. Nicola Calipari's death with the Massacre of Cermis in 1998 and the Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr alleged abduction in 2003 represents one of the most serious post WWII diplomatic accidents between U.S. and Italy . [8]
