Nearby towns of Onna and Paganica are largely gone, reduced to piles of rubble that have never been removed. What happens to your body in extreme heat? Another, Enzo Boschi, described himself as "dejected" and "desperate" after the verdict was read. The special risk commission—made up of scientists Franco Barberi, Enzo Boschi, Gianmichele Calvi, Mauro Dolce, Claudio Eva, and Giulio Selvaggi, and Bernardo De Bernardinis, the vice director of Italy’s civil protection agency, who dealt with every earthquake and volcano eruption on Italian soil in the past decade—evaluated the charts and interpreted the science. Sandro Perozzi/AP. In the end they will become less and less credible.”. In the closing statement, the prosecution quoted one of its witnesses, whose father died in the earthquake. Bernardo De Bernardinis (left) and Claudio Eva, two of the defendants in the L'Aquila trial, on 31 October. Can we predict when and where quakes will strike? Throughout the trial prosecution tried to make it clear that this case is not about earthquake prediction but about “inexact, incomplete and contradictory information” Scientific American on l’Aquila trial. German call to ban 'Jewish star' at Covid demos1, Rio police accused of executing suspects in raid2, Big Chinese rocket segment set to fall to Earth3, Girl, 5, stuck in India while parents in Australia4, Australia Olympic team photo sparks diversity row5, Under 40s to be offered alternative to AZ vaccine6, First results announced in Scottish election7, Quarantine-free holiday destinations to be revealed8, Child shoots three at school in Idaho, police say9, How Tanzania's new leader wooed Kenya - in five quotes10. The verdict brings to an end 7 years of legal actions initiated by relatives of some of the 309 victims of the deadly earthquake that struck L’Aquila on 6 April 2009. Residents had become nervous about an increase in seismic activity. They must each pay $2.6 million immediately. The seven - all members of the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks - were accused of having provided "inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory" information about the danger of the tremors felt ahead of 6 April 2009 quake, Italian media report. © puck/Fotolia. “I am devastated,” said Boschi, one of the condemned, after the hearing. Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over the 2009 deadly earthquake in L'Aquila. The main shock occurred at 03:32 CEST on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together with surrounding villages suffered the most damage. The trial, which began a year ago, drew scores of survivors to court each time it met. "The best estimate at the time was that the low-level seismicity was not likely to herald a bigger quake, but there are no certainties in this game," he said. According to the prosecution, the team had failed to adequately warn of the dangers of a large earthquake, just days before a 6.3 magnitude quake hit the L’Aquila … Seismic activity in the L'Aquila area had increased above normal background levels in January 2009. Rocky Planet By Erik Klemetti October 23, 2012 3:01 AM. Sign up for the Newsletter Sign Up. The news that shook the scientific world, however, was still to come. Read about our approach to external linking. Seismic experts sentenced to six years in prison and $10 million each in damages for not accurately predicting Italy’s fatal 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. A number of these earthquakes were felt, causing some alarm. The magnitude-6.3 tremor struck at 3:32 am local time, extensively damaging the 13th-century city of L’Aquila, located only about 60 miles (100 … Residents of a Rio de Janeiro slum accuse police of violence and abuses in a raid that left 25 dead. In addition to their sentences, all have been barred from ever holding public office again, La Repubblica reports. Damage in an area affected by the L'Aquila earthquake of 2009. Monday’s sentence may give closure to those who lost loved ones, but scientists worry it will actually set a precedent that will do more harm than good. The Verdict of the l'Aquila Earthquake Trial Sends the Wrong Message. Six Italian scientists and a government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over statements they made prior to a 2009 earthquake that killed 309 in the town of L'Aquila. The 13th century city of L'Aquila, capital of Abruzzo, was severely damaged and 309 people killed in an earthquake on April 6, 2009. The judge also ordered the defendants to pay court costs and damages. Some scientists have warned that the case might set a damaging precedent, deterring experts from sharing their knowledge with the public for fear of being targeted in lawsuits, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome reports. People walk past collapsed buildings near L'Aquila, Italy in after an deadly earthquake in April 2009. Then, despite the noted increase in both size and frequency of the tremors, they assured the citizens that they largely rejected the possibility of a major earthquake, calling it “unlikely.”. Yet this verdict makes me bitter, because it means that those deaths could be avoided. In this activity, students reenact select key events leading up to, during, and following the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake and subsequent trial. "If the scientific community is to be penalised for making predictions that turn out to be incorrect, or for not accurately predicting an event that subsequently occurs, then scientific endeavour will be restricted to certainties only and the benefits that are associated with findings from medicine to physics will be stalled.". "My life from tomorrow will change," the former vice-president of the Civil Protection Agency's technical department said, according to La Repubblica. This verdict is very complicated and I think it is important to try and illuminate all sides to it. The earthquake killed over 300 people, injured over 1,500, destroyed around 20,000 buildings and displaced over 65,000 people. Read about our approach to external linking. There have been several thousand foreshocks and … And they stayed.". I still don't understand what I was convicted of.". In September 2011, seven men – four scientists, two engineers and a government official – went on trial, charged with criminal manslaughter in the death of about a 10th of the victims of the L’Aquila earthquake. VideoInside Myanmar's Spring Revolution, Girl, 5, stuck in India while parents in Australia, 'It felt like a scene from a horror movie', Eurovision welcomes back fans despite pandemic. Scientists cannot predict earthquakes, of course, but on Monday, a L’Aquila court found the seven officials who were at the March 31, 2009, meeting guilty of multiple manslaughter and abetting grave injury for “providing an assessment of the risks that was incomplete, inept, unsuitable, and criminally mistaken.” They were sentenced to six years in prison, $10 million each in damages and the cost of the trial. Inside Myanmar's Spring Revolution. Earlier, more than 5,000 scientists signed an open letter to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in support of the group in the dock. ... An extraordinary trial in L'Aquila. To be honest, I still don’t even understand what I was accused of.”. They were used to tremors—after all, L’Aquila sits on a major fault line—but there was something different about what was happening, and they all knew it. Among those convicted were some of Italy's most prominent and internationally respected seismologists and geological experts. Seven people went on trial for manslaughter Tuesday in Italy, accused of failing to predict an earthquake that killed more than 300 people in L'Aquila in April 2009. Inside Myanmar's Spring Revolution. Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. Taking an invention from idea to the marketplace, The violent judo class that put a boy in a coma, BBC Culture: TV shows that reveal the real France. A local lawyer, Valentini, began acting on behalf of … At the culmination of the activity it is revealed by a student actor (judge) that scientists and a government official have been sentenced to six years' imprisonment. In October this year six scientists and a government official were sentenced to 6 years each for providing “Significance, incomplete and contradictory information” on the probability and risk of an earthquake and for falsely reassuring the population. The L'Aquila trials, 1 held after the earthquakes that caused 300 deaths in Central Italy in 2009 (Cocco et al. On other occasions they would have fled but that night, with my father, they repeated to themselves what the risk commission had said. Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official are sentenced to six years in prison over the deadly 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila. Manslaughter trial of L'Aquila earthquake scientists will cause serious aftershocks September 23, 2011 12.08am EDT Paul Somerville , Katharine Haynes , Macquarie University In 2010 the seven were placed under investigation for allegedly giving false and fatal reassurances to the people of L'Aquila a few days ahead of the earthquake, … The largest was a magnitude 4.1 earthquake on 30 March. A week later at 3:32 a.m. on April 6, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the region, destroying the city center of L’Aquila, killing 308 people and injuring 1,600. Rio police accused of executing suspects in raid. … In Italy, the majority of those convicted of crimes do not have to serve their sentences until after the appellate process, which usually takes place within 24 months of sentencing. © 2021 BBC. After the hearing, Marcello Melandri, lawyer for scientist Boschi, told reporters that scientists may now, effectively, be forced to rethink how they interpret science when citizens are worried. "But, if I am judged by all stages of the judicial process to be guilty, I will accept my responsibility.". After the verdict was announced, David Rothery, of the UK's Open University, said earthquakes were "inherently unpredictable". Rubble from a collapse house covered a car after the 2009 l'Aquila earthquake in Italy. Reacting to the verdict against him, Bernardo De Bernardinis said: "I believe myself to be innocent before God and men.". A group known as 309 Martyrs (one of the victims was nine months pregnant when she was killed, so survivors have upped the death toll to 309) held vigil at the trial in attempt to put human faces on the tragedy. Six Italian scientists and a government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over statements they made prior to a 2009 earthquake that killed 309 in the town of L'Aquila. 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