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Call for U.S. soldier's indictment in Italy

Barbara McMahon, Michael Howard and Julian Borger

Italian prosecutors' demand likely to sour Rome-Washington relations

Rome/Sulaimaniya/Washington: Italian prosecutors have called for the indictment of an American soldier for the shooting of an Italian intelligence agent at a checkpoint in Iraq last year.

The request to charge Mario Lozano, a national guardsman from New York, with the murder of Nicola Calipari, a senior military intelligence officer, was signed by four Rome prosecutors. They referred to the shooting as a ``political crime'' which harmed Italy's interests.

The demand was likely to sour U.S.-Italian relations already affected by the defeat, in a general election in April, of Silvio Berlusconi, a close ally of the Bush administration.

Romano Prodi, Italy's Prime Minister, has called the invasion of Iraq ``a grave mistake'' and is withdrawing Italian troops from the country, but has said Italy will continue to help rebuild Iraq.

Mr. Calipari was killed on March 4 last year while he was escorting an Italian journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, to safety after she had been released from militants who had kidnapped her. At least one American soldier manning a checkpoint on the airport road fired on the car in which they were travelling towards the airport. Ms. Sgrena and another Italian agent were wounded.

The Pentagon said on Monday there had already been an investigation into the incident and the U.S. military had recommended no disciplinary action be taken.

But a joint U.S.-Italian investigation last year produced two opposite conclusions. The American investigators cleared the U.S. soldiers of any wrongdoing and blamed the Italians for driving too fast on a dangerous road and for failing to heed the soldiers' warnings to slow down.

Italian investigators, relying on testimony from the driver and Ms. Sgrena, said the car was not speeding and there had been no warning from the Americans. They blamed jittery soldiers on one of their first days in Iraq and the erection of an impromptu checkpoint for a series of fatal errors.

The case will now go before an Italian judge, who will evaluate the evidence and rule on whether the soldier should be charged and a trial go ahead. A preliminary hearing is expected within days. If the U.S. authorities refuse a request to extradite Mr. Lozano, Italian law would allow him to be tried in absentia. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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