Grillo jr's appeal trial is underway and will be behind closed doors

No notebooks, recordings, cameras or classroom recordings. The appeal trial against the convictions for gang sexual violence inflicted on Ciro Grillo, Vittorio Lauria, Edoardo Capitta - 8 years - and Francesco Corsiglia - 6 years and 6 months - accused of having taken advantage of two girls on the night between 16 and 17 July 2019, in the Grillo family's villa in Porto Cervo, will take place behind closed doors.

At the opening of the proceedings, the Court of Sassari, presided over by judge Gianni Delogu, after three hours of deliberation, decided to accept the request of the civil parties for the rite to be celebrated behind closed doors. The Orders of Journalists of Sardinia and Liguria had presented the opposite request, recalling the right to freedom of the press and respect for articles 3 and 5 of the new code of ethics of the Odg (substantial truth, continence, completeness of information). Especially since the presence of journalists had already been admitted by the Court of Tempio Pausania in the second phase of the first degree proceedings.

"The Court considered the interests of privacy and protection of the offended party to be paramount over the publicity of the hearing", comments one of the defense lawyers Mariano Mameli. "Obviously no one would have overlooked the pre-eminence of this interest, but it certainly conflicts with the need for publicity of the hearing, which was also considered valid during the first instance trial, when the discussions were open to all the defenders and the public. It is a decision which therefore also changes the orientation of the first instance panel". The lawyer Antonella Cuccureddu, also from the defense panel, supported and justified with a brief the request for an open-door trial: "The Court disregarded the choice made by the Court of Tempio Pausania in the last part of the hearing, when journalists were granted access. The Constitutional Court reiterated that the publicity of the hearing is an essential principle of democracy, a mandatory principle which can have exceptions only in absolutely exceptional cases".

The next hearing has been set for February 10, 2027. The Court will have to resolve two preliminary objections presented with the defense's appeals: the nullity of the first degree sentence, because the signature of the third drafting judge is missing, and the "systematic" violation of the Cartabia Law.