Flavio Tosi - Legal Troubles

Legal Troubles

On 2 December 2004 Tosi was found guilty of instigation to racism according to the Mancino Law, for having collected signatures against the establishment of new gypsy camps in Verona. Later, on 30 January 2007, the Court of Appeal found Tosi not guilty for the above offence, while at the same time finding him guilty of a minor offence (promoting a hatred campaign). On 13 December 2007 the Court of Cassation cancelled the latter sentence and ruled that the a new appeal must take place. On June 2008 the Court of Cassation publicized the motivations of its December 2007 sentence, stating that Tosi was not guilty of promoting ideas of racial superiority or hatred and that it is acceptable to discriminate against Roma on the grounds that they are thieves, indicating that the Court of Appeals should not consider as crime political initiatives aimed at illegal acts of minority members.

On 20 October 2008 the Appeals' Court of Venice upheld the conviction of Tosi to two months of imprisonment with suspended sentence. The Court has given sixty days for filing the motivation. Tosi has announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Cassation. On 11 July 2009 that Court definitively sentence Tosi to two months of imprisonment with suspended sentence. In October 2009 Tosi was sentenced by the Court of Cassation to a sanction of 4,000 euro and to the suspension for three years from holding public rallies.