Media News - Thursday, May 15, 2008

Italian appeals court reverses acquittal of Vatican Radio officials

Italy’s top appeals court reversed the acquittal of two Vatican Radio officials implicated in alleged electromagnetic pollution emanating from the station’s transmitters. The Court of Cassation announced its decision late Tuesday evening to put both the former director and president of the radio station back on trial, after they were acquitted in June 2007 by Rome’s court of appeal. Vatican Radio said Wednesday it was disappointed with this latest decision. In 2001, residents from Cesano, north of Rome, took Vatican Radio to court, alleging its nearby high-power transmitters caused leukaemia and other serious health problems in the community. Investigators from the Italian Environment Ministry at the time found levels of electromagnetic fields that largely surpassed the legal limit of six volts per metre. A damning report from the public health agency for Latium, the region surrounding Rome, followed. The investigation revealed infant mortality rates from leukemia in Cesano to be three times that of other areas. The charges of electromagnetic pollution brought about a ten-day jail sentence for Cardinal Roberto Tucci, the president of Vatican Radio, and father Pasquale Borgomeo, the station’s director at the time. That sentence was appealed by Vatican Radio, which said Wednesday it had always conformed to international recommendations for electromagnetic emissions prior even to the existence of any such legislation in Italy. Following Tuesday’s decision, Vatican Radio said it would show there was no risk to local residents in the next round of litigation. (AFP via Media Network Weblog)

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