an internet troll in Italy, who responded to a Facebook post about Ineos grenadier pilot dani Martinez being punched by a motorist while writing “Hit a cyclist to educate 100” was cleared by a judge who ruled that no crime had been committed.
Marco Cavorso, security manager for the Italian professional cyclists’ union, the ACCPI, described the decision as a “slap in the face” for cyclists in a statement released by the organization, which it said demonstrates that “inciting violence against cyclists is not a crime. “
It was Cavorso himself, whose 13-year-old son Tomasso was killed by a motorist while riding his bike, who reported the social media post to the relevant authorities following the March 2018 incident in Tuscany that left the then EF Education rider First Martinez in hospital after a driver punched the Colombian, who had protested to him about overtaking.
The social media commentator was investigated for incitement to crime, aggravated by the electronic transmission, but a Pistoia court acquitted the defendant after a Pistoia judge ruled that the facts of the case did not constitute a crime.
Reacting to the judgement, Cavorso said: “The outcome of the hearing against one of the many people who hare cyclists is another slap in the face for us, but it will not stop us – we owe that to my son Tommaso and all those boys and girls who will remain. young forever.”
The ACCPI is currently campaigning for a minimum safe passage distance of 1.5 meters to be implemented in Italy, and while Cavorso acknowledges that “it would not be the panacea for all ills, given the depth of verbal and physical violence in our society ,” would be “the first step towards recognizing that poor road users are entitled to their living space”.
In a statement on its website, the ACCPI highlighted the death toll on Italy’s roads, stating that “every day children and adults, men and women, students and workers, rich and poor, champions and ordinary people continue to die, without distinction between them, because road violence shows no signs of stopping, and verbal violence against vulnerable road users instead of being punished is considered acceptable”.
The final judgment in the case will be presented within 90 days, with Cavorso and the ACCPI having 135 days to appeal the decision, which they intend to do.
The professional cyclists’ organization also highlighted that the court case comes at a time when the driver of the truck that fled the scene of the accident on November 30, in which the recently retired professional cyclist Davide Rebellin was killed, is still at large.
> The truck driver who killed Davide Rebellin allegedly got out of the taxi, looked at the dead cyclist and walked away
Prosecutors in Vicenza are still waiting to issue a European arrest warrant for the driver, Wolfgang Rieke, who returned to his native Germany immediately after the fatal accident.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the delay in issuing the arrest warrant, and also in Rebellin’s autopsy to exclude, for example, the possibility that he fell ill immediately before the fatal accident, is to avoid any irregularity in the process that could later be seized by the defence.
The newspaper adds that the autopsy is scheduled to take place in Vicenza next Monday, December 19, with the funeral taking place on Wednesday, the 21st or, more likely, on Thursday, December 22nd.
“You can kill a cyclist, flee abroad in your truck and go on living as if nothing had happened,” said the ACCPI, “while the person you killed is still waiting for an autopsy and his devastated family has yet to arrange his death. funeral.”
Insisting that Italy’s roads “continue to represent a minefield for cyclists”, the ACCPI is inviting people to join an initiative this Sunday to highlight the danger people who ride bicycles face on the roads.
“In memory of Davide Rebellin and to continue asking for respect and safety for cyclists, we invite everyone on that day to ride with a black armband and to post messages on social networks with the hashtag #unmetroemezzodivita and tagging @accpi”, said the president of the association. entity, Cristian Salvato.
“We will be pleased to share your messages because we need to respond to death and violence with all our will to live, the joy of riding and the respect that every human life deserves, even that of those who insult us and don’t realize that when they are behind the wheel, it’s like having a loaded pistol in your hand,” he added.
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