Conte condemns blindfolding of American suspect in police homicide case

(ANSA) - Rome, July 29 - Premier Giuseppe Conte has condemned the blindfolding of one of the two young Americans arrested in relation to the homicide of a Carabiniere police officer in Rome last week.
    A photo emerged on social media at the weekend showing one of the suspects, 18-year-old Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, blindfolded and his hands handcuffed behind his back in a Carabiniere station.
    The head of the paramilitary police force has said blindfolding a suspect is illegal and the person responsible will be disciplined, along with the person who took and shared the photo.
    "Italy is a State of the rule of law," Conte wrote on Facebook. "We have principles and consolidated values. "We must avoid being swept along by the wave of emotional reactions, while also taking into account that our legislation provides for life sentences for murder without any reduction in the term to be served. "This is in part the merit of stricter laws introduced by this government." The prime minister added that "now we must instead make sure that those with responsibility act in such a way that these regulations be applied in a rigorous manner".
    After the photo prompted criticism, Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini posted a tweet stating that the slain Carabiniere, Mario Cerciello Rega, was the only victim in this story. Natale-Hjorth and his friend, 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder, are in jail in relation to the case.
    Police say that they have confessed. An autopsy showed Cerciello Rega bled to death after being stabbed 11 times.
    Elder allegedly stabbed the policeman while Natale-Hjorth punched his partner.