The Irish Embassy in Rome has asked the Italian Foreign Ministry to speed up the case of an Irishman who is still in custody after being arrested during protests at the G8 summit in Genoa.
Mr Joe Moffat (30), from Drimnagh in Dublin, was arrested on July 22nd in the Italian city.He had in his possession a Swiss army knife which is undergoing forensic tests.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it is "maintaining an active interest" in the case.
He said a representative from the Irish Embassy in Rome visited Mr Moffat in prison.
The spokesman said Mr Moffat was reportedly in good health, receiving no ill treatment and was happy with his legal representation.
He said the Italian police were awaiting the results of forensic tests on the Swiss army knife. Until these tests came back, nothing could be done.
Meanwhile, three officials were removed from their posts in the first action taken against police in the wake of last month's violence-marred G8 summit.
The decision was announced in a statement by Italian interior minister Mr Claudio Scajola, who himself was the focus of a parliamentary confidence vote this week over allegations the police used excessive force against protesters.
Reassigned from their posts were Mr Ansoino Andreassi, the deputy chief of police in charge of the summit, Mr Arnaldo La Barbera, head of the anti-terrorism department, and Mr Francesco Colucci, police superintendent of Genoa.
Police shot dead a 23-year-old demonstrator during the riots while over 200 people were injured in clashes and 280 people were arrested.
Additional reporting PA