Communist on Achille Lauro Jury Excused
The judge in the trial of Palestinians accused of hijacking the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro Saturday accepted the resignation from the jury of a Communist Party provincial legislator who, prosecutors said, could be subject to political pressure.
The juror, Silvio Ferrari, a member of the Genoa province legislature, had sent a letter to Judge Lino Monteverde requesting to be dropped from the jury after prosecutors had suggested to him that he could be open to influence by a party official. The Italian Communist Party has been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause for a homeland.
Ferrari later made public a letter from chief prosecutor Gennaro De Feo, which said that Ferrari could be the “object of pressures on the part of Graziano Mazzarello, secretary of the Communist Party’s provincial office,” that could affect his judgment.
Mazzarello, strongly denied attempting to influence Ferrari or of planning to do so.
Ferrari will be replaced on the six-man jury by an alternate.
The trial of three of the alleged hijackers and 12 alleged accomplices resumes Tuesday.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
