BY SEAN HEALY
An Italian police officer has confirmed eyewitness reports that the brutal July 21 raid on the headquarters of groups protesting the G8 summit of world leaders in Genoa was an act of vengeance ordered by higher authorities.
Speaking to the Italian La Repubblica newspaper, on condition of anonymity, the police officer said: "I'm sorry to say that it's all true. Even more.
"What happened at the school and that continued here at Bolzaneto [where the arrestees were taken] was a suspension of rights, an empty space in the constitution. I tried to tell colleagues, but they only answered that: we don't have to be afraid, our back is covered.
"There are those who say it was an act of revenge, others that we received a precise command from Rome: arrest at all costs. Colleagues from Rome were behind the attack. It was crazy."
Units of the paramilitary carabinieri, the same police who the previous day had shot and killed 23-year-old Carlo Giuliani, stormed the three-story offices of the Genoa Social Forum and the Independent Media Centre (IMC), and an adjacent school being used for accommodation, late in the night of July 21.
Other police units, including the prison police, have also been implicated in the assault.
Cops gassed the buildings, kicked in the doors and viciously beat people, even those who had been sleeping. The hallways and walls were covered in blood, according to eyewitnesses.
The police officer confirmed that the beatings continued at police headquarters, which was turned into a prison for the arrested.
"When [the protesters] came in, [police] smashed their heads against the wall. They peed on someone, others were beaten if they didn't sing fascist songs. A girl was vomiting blood and the chiefs of the prison police just watched. To the ladies they said that they were going to rape them with their sticks."
The police operations in Genoa, and the raid on the IMC in particular, have provoked a storm in Italy and there are now three separate inquiries, including one by the parliament.
One inquiry has already admitted that police had made tactical errors and used excessive force during the raid on the IMC, although Genoa prosecutor Francesco Lalla has said it is unlikely any police will be charged.
Three senior officers have already resigned, including the superintendent of police in Genoa, and pressure is mounting for the country's chief of police to also turn in his badge.
While seemingly willing to have police commanders implicated, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is determined to beat back calls for the sacking of several of his ministers, including Claudio Scajola, the interior minister.
Berlusconi's right-wing alliance was able to defeat a motion in the Italian Senate on August 1 calling for Scajola to resign.
The government has also sought to turn the inquiries into investigations of protesters. Prosecutors have already demanded that media organisations hand over their videotapes and other materials, a move which has been criticised by Italian and international journalists' and press freedom associations.
While assuring Italians that there will be no whitewash, Berlusconi has said he is "with the police 100%".