SThe three men arrested in Rome as part of the investigation into the death of Desirée Mariottini were questioned in Regina Coeli prison. The investigating judge Maria Paola Tomaselli confirmed the arrest of all three. Brian Minteh, 43, from Senegal, was the only one to answer the investigating judge: he wanted to give his version and respond to the accusations, while the Senegalese Mamadou Gara, 27, and the 46-year-old Nigerian Chima Alinno availed themselves of the right to remain silent. His lawyer, Pina Tenga, spoke for the latter: “I would never have dared to even touch Desirée, because you could see she was a child,” the man reportedly said. "My client today decided to avail himself of the right to remain silent because he is unable to understand what he is accused of," the lawyer said. Brian Minteh, the only one to have responded to the investigating judge, denied everything, naming other people: "I had nothing to do with it. It wasn't me, it was others." His statements will be examined in depth by investigators, who are continuing their investigations, with further checks.
According to the investigating judge Tomaselli, the three suspects "with obstinacy, cruelty and ease" abused the young woman, without "any hesitation in carrying out extremely harmful conduct to the detriment of a minor subject, reaching the point of sacrificing the primary good of life". "The suspects first administered the mix of drugs and substances to the girl, perfectly aware of the fact that they were potentially lethal in order to abuse them - the order states -, then they abused her for a long time and repeatedly, finally they left her abandoned to herself without adequate assistance, despite the evident and progressive worsening of her condition, to the point of preventing some of those present from calling for help to help her". Some witnesses reported a shocking phrase to the investigators: "Better that she dies than us in jail". For the judge, there is "a concrete risk of recidivism and escape for the suspects, all of whom are illegal on the national territory with which they do not have any type of family or work ties". For this reason, they are ordered to be held in prison.
Yusif Salia, the fourth foreigner arrested on Friday and accused, like the others, of murder, sexual violence and drug dealing, spent his first night in prison in Foggia. His arrest will have to be validated, through questioning, in Foggia. Salia, without a residence permit like the other three, had 11 kilograms of drugs and a toy gun with him and had taken refuge in a shack near the asylum seekers' reception center in the Apulian town. Meanwhile, two opposing demonstrations took place in San Lorenzo: in Piazza di Porta Maggiore, the sit-in of Forza Nuova, while from Piazza dell'Immacolata, the procession promoted by the ANPI started, with the participation of unions and the PD to ask not to exploit the tragic story of the sixteen-year-old and not to turn the foreigner into a scapegoat.
On Friday, investigators returned for new inspections in the abandoned building in San Lorenzo, on Via dei Lucani, where the sixteen-year-old died. According to the reconstruction of the prosecutor's office, Desirée had been frequenting that place of degradation for almost two weeks, where she procured and consumed drugs. She came and went from that place where she died on the night between Thursday and Friday of last week, after being raped by the gang of drug dealers. On the afternoon of October 18, Desirée returned to Via dei Lucani in search of drugs, met the group and asked for some drugs to consume there, as had already happened in the past. According to investigators, the drug dealers knew that the dose given to the girl was capable of killing her and when she felt ill, they did not call anyone who could help her but instead raped her, several times, as a group. Desirée did not resist in any way: she could not do it because she was not herself, she could not stand while they, without any mercy, were on top of her. After the abuse, they left her on the ground, shaking, walked away and left her to die.
Article published on 28 October 2018 - 07:46
