A Turin appeals court on Wednesday
acquitted all the defendants in a trial over the alleged
asbestos-related deaths of workers at Olivetti's Ivrea plant
near the northern Italian city.
The ruling reverses convictions for former Olivetti chief
Carlo De Benedetti and his brother Franco, who were handed jail
terms of five years, two month for manslaughter and personal
injury at the first instance trial.
The case regards the deaths of 12 workers, who did jobs
ranging from assembling typewriters and machine maintenance to
painting.
They died after their retirements between 2003 and early
2013, had been employed between the 1960s and 1990s in areas of
the plant that were allegedly contaminated with asbestos fibers.
Also cleared was ex-minister Corrado Passera, who had been
handed a term of one year, 11 months.
Passera served as Italy's transport and industry minister
from 2011 to 2013 in the emergency technocrat government of
ex-premier Mario Monti.
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