Murder
He was murdered on 10 June 1924, after the publication of his book The Fascisti Exposed: A Year of Fascist Domination and two fierce and lengthy speeches in the Chamber of Deputies denouncing Fascism.
During a kidnap attempt, he was bundled into a car and stabbed several times with a carpenter's file as he was struggling to escape. His corpse was found near Riano, 20 miles from Rome, on 16 August 1924, after an extensive search.
Five men (Amerigo Dumini - a prominent member of the Fascist secret police, the Ceka, Giuseppe Viola, Albino Volpi, Augusto Malacria and Amleto Poveromo) were arrested a few days after the kidnapping. Only three (Dumini, Volpi and Poveromo) were convicted and shortly after released under amnesty by King Victor Emmanuel III; one, Filippo Panzeri, escaped before the arrests of his accomplices.
Before the trial against the murderers, the High Court of the Senate started a trial against general Emilio De Bono, commander of the MVSN, but he was discharged.
After the Second World War, in 1947, the trial against Francesco Giunta, Cesare Rossi, Dumini, Viola, Poveromo, Malacria, Filippelli and Panzeri was re-opened. Dumini, Viola and Poveromo were sentenced to life imprisonment.
In none of these three trials was evidence found of Mussolini's involvement.
Read more about this topic: Giacomo Matteotti
Famous quotes containing the word murder:
“What drivel it all is!... A string of words called religion. Another string of words called philosophy. Half a dozen other strings called political ideals. And all the words either ambiguous or meaningless. And people getting so excited about them they’ll murder their neighbours for using a word they don’t happen to like. A word that probably doesn’t mean as much as a good belch. Just a noise without even the excuse of gas on the stomach.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“If we Americans are to survive it will have to be because we choose and elect and defend to be first of all Americans; to present to the world one homogeneous and unbroken front, whether of white Americans or black ones or purple or blue or green.... If we in America have reached that point in our desperate culture when we must murder children, no matter for what reason or what color, we don’t deserve to survive, and probably won’t.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“Every murder turns on a bright hot light, and a lot of people ... have to walk out of the shadows.”
—Mark Hellinger (1903–1947)