Posted on 07/19/2011 2:09:24 PM PDT by markomalley
Three accused eco-terrorists went on trial under heavy security in Switzerland's highest criminal court Tuesday for an alleged plot to blow up an IBM nanotech research center near Zurich.
The trial in the Federal Criminal Court for an Italian couple and Swiss man living in Italy opened after a one-hour delay because of the extraordinary security taken by Swiss police, who cordoned off the area with metal barriers.
The three defendants — 35-year-old Costantino Alfonso Ragusa, his 29-year-old wife Silvia Ragusa Guerini and their 26-year-old Swiss friend Luca "Billy" Cristos Bernasconi — had been detained after being arrested last year with explosives.
Swiss authorities have linked the three to an Italian group that also has claimed responsibility for bombings in Greece, Switzerland and Italy. Experts say a loosely linked movement of European anarchists is becoming more violent and coordinated in the wake of the continent's financial crisis.
Their defense lawyers, however, argued for holding the trial in Italy, and claimed the trial in Switzerland was unfair because Swiss police used a "staged traffic control" to arrest the defendants.
"This is a violation of the law which prescribes presumption of innocence for anybody," said lawyer Christian Meier, representing Bernasconi. Marcel Bosonnet, a lawyer for Costantino, agreed.
The three were stopped in traffic in April 2010 near Zurich, about two miles (3 kilometers) from what police said was their intended target, the IBM research center at Rueschlikon that opened in May.
The court dismissed the defense objections, saying Zurich police had acted correctly.
(Excerpt) Read more at old.news.yahoo.com ...
Defense lawyers are necessary, but scum. They’re essentially arguing that these three were stopped illegally before being able to target an IBM facility? In a normal world, the police would be praised for stopping a potential bombing.
...for an alleged plot to blow up an IBM nanotech research center near Zurich... 35-year-old Costantino Alfonso Ragusa, his 29-year-old wife Silvia Ragusa Guerini and their 26-year-old Swiss friend Luca "Billy" Cristos Bernasconi...
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