US men await their fate as murder trial nears end in Rome
Associated PressROME — The pandemic was just bearing down on Italy when the trial began of two young American men, charged with the murder of an Italian police officer near their hotel while they were on vacation in 2019. Cerciello Rega, wearing a T-shirt and long shorts, and Varriale, also dressed casually on the warm night in a polo shirt and jeans, were assigned to respond in plainclothes to what prosecutors contended was an extortion scheme devised by Natale-Hjorth. The Americans are also charged with assault for causing Varriale’s injury, carrying an attack-type knife outside home without just cause and resisting a public official. Italian newspapers published a photo of Natale-Hjorth blindfolded and with his hands cuffed behind his back during questioning at a Rome Carabinieri station, in violation of Italian law protecting suspects’ dignity.
History of this topic
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