Dear Mr. President,

My name is Monica Aschei, the wife of Silvio Scaglia, founder of Fastweb, who has been detained in Rebibbia  for 67 days for the role he has played at Fastweb in the years 2003-2007 in relation to an ongoing investigation into an alleged tax fraud and fake billing by Roman prosecutors.

My husband has always maintained his innocence. He denies all charges which have already been the object of a previous inquiry.

His attorneys confirm that there is no circumstantial evidence against him: there is no evidence and there are no witnesses on his alleged complicity with the illegal operations he has been charged with.

There is no evidence to justify preventive incarceration: my husband has already been interrogated by the prosecutors, he cannot tamper with 3-year-old evidence, he has certainly no intention of running abroad, given that he surrendered himself to the authorities and cannot repeat the crime (he has not played any operational role at Fastweb since 2007).

I do understand that prosecutors are doing their job but does this justify the prolonged times of preventive incarceration without a trial?

I think you can understand the pain my family and I are going through now and my sense of frustration and powerlessness for what I consider to be grave injustice.

My husband is not a criminal, a murderer and neither is he a “mafia man”.

He is a good citizen who has always behaved properly, has devoted his life to supporting and creating innovation, employing over 30,000 people and contributing to Italy’s growth in the field of international telecommunications.

I have heard too many versions of the facts over the last two months; a top- level web of intrigues, poisons and resentment from the past; anomalies of the Italian judiciary system. But I cannot find a good answer, a good reason for the steps that have been taken against him.

I get new hopes every day that are systematically overturned. I get told that this is the way our system is and that I should put up with it but I don’t want to and I cannot accept what is happening and no one should.

I am addressing this letter to You because You have wisely delivered an important message to the Italian judiciary, that is, the respect for the rights of every citizen; respect for true justice that judges without abusing its power, a kind of justice that is beyond prejudice because it knows how to listen.

I would like my husband to be judged by the same justice you support and long for, a kind of justice that pursue the truth and does not resort to preventive incarceration beyond a reasonable time.

We are getting a lot of support, even from people we have never met.

Driven by strong disillusionment and bitterness with the responsibility of giving some certainty to the many employees of the new business initiatives undertaken by my husband, I ask You to shed light on his case and on those of the many people that, like my husband, are unjustly held in prison.

I hope You can consider, as President of the Higher Council of Italian Judiciary, the sensitive issue of preventive incarceration, often arbitrarily implemented to the limit of human and constitutional rights.

I thank You in advance for the assessments you would like to make which will surely be of great comfort to us all in a moment of such unfair as much as undeserved pain.

Sincerely,

Monica Aschei Scaglia

Reply from the Italian President

The Italian President has repeatedly pointed out –even recently – how complex the role of judiciary is and the need for judges to consider the difficult and painful situations affecting a man, his dignity and freedom.

This is what Loris D’Ambrosio (the President’s advisor for the Administration of Justice) writes in reply to a letter by Mrs. Scaglia, the wife of Silvio Scaglia, who has been held in Rebibbia for 77 days.

After confirming that “The President cannot interfere with specific legal proceedings because their assessment is left exclusively with the judiciary” Loris D’Ambrosio adds “I am convinced that prosecutors will not fail to make a prompt and balanced decision on Your husband’s position, taking into account investigation requirements and defense strategies.

D’Ambrosio makes explicit reference to the numerous pre-trial instruments availble within the criminal code: instruments that, if requested, involve, in the case of people under preventive measures, broader assessments – in terms of evidence of guilt and preventive custody – by more than one judge and by the High Court of Cassation.