A court in Crotone has ruled against
the release from prison of Maysoon Madjidi, a Kurdish activist
arrested on December 31 last year in the Calabrian city for
allegedly skippering a migrant boat that landed on a beach in
nearby Gabella with 77 passengers.
Her defence attorney had requested for Majidi to be placed under
house arrest - a request also reiterated by the defendant during
a five-hour hearing Wednesday of the criminal trial chaired by
judge Edoardo D'Ambrosio.
Madjidi, 29, is in prison because she is accused by two of the
77 passengers of the migrant boat, an Iraqi and an Iranian, of
having aided the ship's captain, Akturk Ufuk, who confessed to
skippering the boat and has agreed to a fast-track trial.
The activist, who is currently detained in Reggio Calabria,
repeated that she was innocent during a hearing attended by
dozens of activists who wanted to support the Kurdish artist.
Madjiidi said she lived in the basement of a building with the
other passengers before boarding the boat and claimed she
continued to ask for money to pay for her trip until three days
prior to departure before requesting a loan to the Komala party
from the Kurdish region of Iran of which she is a member in
order to depart for Italy.
Her attorney Giancarlo Liberati also asked during the hearing
why finance police were unable to track down the two witnesses
for the prosecution while journalists reporting on the case
"found then in England and Germany".
Liberati said he had been in touch with security officials but,
"as of today, we have no news" on where the key witnesses
accusing his client are.
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