A Turin court on Tuesday found six
men guilty of arson aggravated by racial hatred for setting a
Romani people camp on fire in December 2011.
The violent mob acted after a local Italian girl said she
had been raped by a Romani man from the camp.
The girl later admitted she had been lying and she had not
been raped at all.
The defendants, all from the extreme rightwing fringes of
Juventus ultras supporters, were given sentences ranging from
three years six months to six and a half years.
Law enforcement had to intervene to allow fire fighters to
rescue the Roma families trapped by the flames and to put out
the blaze.
A seventh defendant was acquitted of all charges.
An eighth defendant is being tried separately for health
reasons.
The Romani encampment was at Cascina Continassa, a
city-owned building in a large undeveloped area that has since
been leased to Juventus AC.
The Romani families who had been living in the area for a
decade were evicted in 2013.
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