Three activists already in
custody on terror-related allegations are facing further charges
over protests against a high-speed rail (TAV) line being built
in Piedmont's northern Susa Valley, police said Tuesday.
The new charges, related to an attack at a TAV work site in
Chiomonte in May 2013, are to be issued by the magistrate in
Turin against the trio, who are said to be well-known to
authorities as radical anarchists, police said.
Lucio Alberti, 24, Graziano Mazarelli, 23, and Francesco
Sala, 26 were arrested one year ago and face charges of
producing dangerous weapons and carrying these in a public
place.
The new charges against them come following investigations
by national anti-terrorism squads.
Meanwhile, at a trial last month for four others facing
similar charges following the attack in May 2013, prosecutors
asked for jail sentences of as much as nine years for terrorism
charges.
Police at the time said roughly 30 hooded vandals broke
into the construction site under the cover of nightfall and tore
down fences and blocked machinery.
In a nearby incident, several other activists confronted
police with fireworks and Molotov cocktails.
The incident "was an attack on the State, its choices and
basic interests," prosecutors argued.
"We must evaluate actions, not ideas," said prosecutors.
"Like it or not...the TAV project is the economic and
political choice of a democratic State".
The high-speed rail line, which will eventually connect
Turin to Lyon, has sparked years of protest from locals and
other activists who denounce its high cost and damage to the
environment.
France and Italy argue it will save money and help the
environment in the long run by cutting down on automobile
traffic.
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