Nearly 50 people arrested during violent riots which scarred a Group of Eight meeting in Genoa two weeks ago are still in prison, a top Italian magistrate said today.
Chief Prosecutor Mr Francesco Meloni said most of the 49 prisoners were not Italian and that a court would consider whether there were grounds to keep them in jail next week. Another 29 people have been released on bail.
At a news conference to present the state of investigations into the anti-G8 riots in which one protester was shot dead, Mr Meloni said magistrates had opened eight separate lines of inquiry into alleged police brutality and protester mayhem.
"It is a complex investigation, but we are being spurred on by good will", Mr Meloni said.
Meanwhile 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 the protests.
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.
The July 20-22th meeting was overshadowed by what ministers and police chiefs have described as guerrilla warfare on the streets with lines of balaclava-clad protesters and uniformed police attacking each other with venom.
At least 231 people were injured in the clashes and Meloni said a total of 301 people had been arrested during and after the clashes - revising up a previous figure of 280.