The first
legal punishments for last year's Costa Concordia shipwreck disaster have been
imposed. An Italian court has accepted plea bargain agreements for four crew
members and a manager of the ship's operating company.
An Italian
judge imposed jail sentences under plea bargains against five shipping company
employees on Saturday for the Costa Concordia disaster in early 2012 that
claimed 32 lives. They had been indicted for manslaughter and causing serious injury.
The longest
sentence of 34 months was imposed on Roberto Ferrarini, the crisis coordinator
of the Costa Crociere cruise company. He was accused of delaying rescue
operations in a bid to minimize reputational damage for the firm.
The plea
bargains accepted by the court in the Italian town of Grosseto allowed
defendants to admit guilt in return for lower punishments, thereby avoiding
public trial.
Cabin
service manager Manrico Giampiedroni was given a 30-month term.
Three
others - the ship's deputy commander Ciro Ambrosio, third officer Silvia
Coronica, Indonesian helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin - were handed jail terms of 23,
18 and 20 months respectively.
Judicial
sources quoted by Reuters said none are likely to go to jail as the sentences
under two years would be suspended, and the longer sentences could be subject
to appeal or replaced with community service.
Schettino
alone facing trial
Saturday's
decision leaves the ship's captain Francesco Schettino as the sole defendant in
court proceedings that started earlier this week in Grosseto. He is accused of
multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship. Schettino has denied the charges. If
found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
The
Grosseto court has set the next hearings in Schettino's trial for September 23
to 27. His lawyers have called 100 witnesses and plan to probe management
practices at ship owner Costa Crociere as part of his complaint that he should
not be standing trial alone.
The
Concordia hit a reef off Italy's western Tuscany coast on January 13, 2012, and
ran aground off the island of Giglio, after steering dangerously close to the
coastline. On board had been 4,229 passengers from 70 countries.
It keeled
sideways, sparking a panicked and delayed evacuation which saw some people
forced to throw themselves into the freezing cold waters during what was
wintertime in the Mediterannean region.
Audio from
the ship's black box later revealed command chaos on the bridge on the night of
the shipwreck. The bodies of two victims were never found.
ipj/rc (AP, dpa, AFP, Reuters)
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