Augusto Di Meo, eyewitness to the priest's murder Don Peppe Diana, which occurred on March 19, 1994 in Casal di Principe, reported to the Anti-Mafia Commission that he had been left alone by the State after having denounced the killer.
Di Meo, who has never been recognized as a witness for justice, said he was forced to leave Casal di Principe because of threats from the clans. He had to close his photography laboratory and move to Spello, in Umbria.
“I thought,” Di Meo said, “that after I reported Don Peppe’s killer, the State would come to me, and instead I was abandoned to my fate.”
The witness said he had to face the investigations and the trial of Don Peppe's killer alone, without any financial or moral support from the institutions.
“When I went to the court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere – he said – they called me a 'spy', 'infamous'. I lived in terror, I felt alone”.
Di Meo also said that he tried to obtain recognition as a witness of justice late with respect to the legal deadlines. He then tried to follow the path of the law that protects the families of innocent victims of the Camorra, but even in this case he clashed with the indifference of the institutions.
"Today Casal di Principe is different," Di Meo said, "but it still hasn't freed itself from the Camorra. I will never stop meeting the kids and telling them to report, not to look the other way like Don Peppe and I did."
Di Meo's words sparked a heated debate in the Anti-Mafia Commission. President Chiara Colosimo expressed her solidarity with the witness and announced that the Commission will look into the matter further.
The case of Di Meo is an emblematic example of the difficulties that witnesses of justice encounter in Italy. It is necessary that the State does more to protect and support them, otherwise there is a risk of discouraging people who have the courage to denounce organized crime.
Article published on 25 January 2024 - 20:01
