Italy prosecutor to appeal U.S. soldier murder case

Source: Reuters

Italy prosecutor to appeal U.S. soldier murder case
Fri Jan 4, 2008 11:25am EST

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian prosecutor said on Friday
he expects to appeal a Rome court's decision to drop a
murder case against a U.S. soldier who killed an Italian
intelligence agent in Iraq.

"It won't be today or tomorrow, but yes," one of the
prosecutors, Franco Ionta, told Reuters, asked if he
would appeal. Ionta said he would "almost certainly"
appeal.

U.S. soldier Mario Lozano, 38, had been tried in absentia
for shooting Italian agent Nicola Calipari at a checkpoint
outside Baghdad airport in 2005. Calipari, seen as a hero
in Italy, had been escorting a newly freed hostage out of
Iraq.

The court released its reasoning on Friday for its October
verdict, arguing it did not have jurisdiction -- something
it said fell to the United States.

Lozano, who was a gunner at the checkpoint, says he
opened fire on Calipari's car after the driver ignored
warning shots and refused to stop. The United States
has exonerated Lozano from blame, describing the killing
as a "tragic accident".

(Writing by Phil Stewart, Editing by Matthew Jones)

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0470418920080104

One crime at a time will take a long time...but it must be done.