In a significant step in search for the truth behind the bombing at Bologna railway station that killed 85 people and wounded 200 on 2 August 1980 the far-right militant Paolo Bellini has been found guilty of direct involvement in the massacre. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The hearings at Bologna law Court began in April 2021 presided over by Judge Francesco Caruso with a number of lawyers acting on behalf of the Association of the Families of the Victims.
Lack of evidence
In previous trials Valerio Fioravanti, Francesca Mambro, Luigi Ciavardini and Gilberto Cavallini were found guilty of the massacre with the latter now waiting for the results of an appeal set to take place in 2023.
The trial just ended focused on a film taken by a tourist minutes after the explosion. In the film a man could be seen bearing a resemblance to Bellini who was later listed among those suspected of involvement in the massacre but was acquitted in 1992 for lack of evidence.
In 1980 Bellini had made himself virtually invisible, living under the false name of Roberto da Silva and acting as a Brazilian citizen.
Admitted lying
Under oath, his former wife, Maurizia Bonini, admitted having lied in the past to protect him from being incriminated. She had corroborated Bellini’s alibi seeking to prove that he could not possibly have been at 10.25 in Bologna, the time of the explosion, as he had turned up for an appointment at about 9.30 in Rimini, 73 miles away, in the company of his 9-year-old niece.
“It’s him. I recognize him” she admitted after watching once more the film showing the man on the railway platform. In reality, she confessed, he was late when he arrived at the appointment.
Bellini, now 69-year-old, belonged to the far-right organisation Avanguardia Nazionale on whose instigation he killed a young left wing militant, Alceste Campanile, in 1975.
Mafia bosses
In 1999 he confessed to this killing adding that he had also killed a number of people on behalf of mafia bosses. But he denied any involvement in the Bologna massacre.
His lawyers will probably launch an appeal for a retrial.
During these latest hearings it was found that Bellini began his militancy under the influence of his father who was in close contact with leading political figures, including Giorgio Almirante of the Movimento Sociale Italiano, the post war reincarnation of the fascist party.
He ended up becoming involved in the clandestine army of foot soldiers used by the Gladio-Stay Behind network which operated in close contact with leading figures in the Italian secret service linked to Licio Gelli’s P2 Masonic Lodge, all intending to bring about through a “strategy of tension” a state of emergency to justify a military coup.
Fraudulent bank claims
The Court hearings provided evidence that the Bologna bombing was financed by funds that Gelli obtained through fraudulent claims from Roberto Calvi’s Banco Ambrosiano and that preparations for the bombing at Bologna started at least a year before the event, as did plans to set up false trails to lead investigations off track.
Evidence also emerged showing that fascist terrorists were using secret telephone facilities which were outside the public network and that, as in Bellini’s case, assistance was provided to enable them to obtain training in the piloting of small planes.
