A group of Italian scientists was facing six years in jail for manslaughter last night (Monday) for providing "an incomplete, inept, unsuitable and criminally mistaken" assessment of risks posed by the devastating L'Aquila earthquake that killed more than 300 people.
The landmark decision was welcomed by victims and their families but immediately prompted uproar from the scientific community, which contends that there is no reliable way of predicting earthquakes.
The six scientists and a former government official were all members of the Major Risks Committee which met in the central Italian city on March 31, 2009, after several small tremors had been recorded in the region. At the time, they ruled that it was impossible to determine whether the tremors would be followed by a large quake, in a judgment which reassured residents. One of the group famously advised them to relax with a glass of wine. Just six days later, a 6.3 magnitude quake devastated L'Aquila.
Yesterday, Judge Marco Billi announced the manslaughter sentence to a packed courtroom in a temporary building put up to hear the case in the still devastated city. He also ruled that the defendants should pay euros 7.8?million (pounds 6.4?million) in damages, with euros ?2?million to be paid immediately.
The sentencing provoked strong criticism from the scientific community. Richard Walters of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences, said he was "saddened" by the verdict, which set a "dangerous precedent".
"The issue here is about miscommunication of science, and we should not be putting responsible scientists who gave measured, scientifically accurate information in prison. This sets a very dangerous precedent and I fear it will discourage other scientists from offering their advice on natural hazards and trying to help society in this way."
Professor Malcolm Sperrin, Director of Medical Physics, Royal Berkshire Hospital, said: "If the scientific community is to be penalised for making predictions that turn out to be incorrect, or for not accurately predicting an event that subsequently occurs, then scientific endeavour will be restricted to certainties only and the benefits that are associated with findings from medicine to physics will be stalled."
Fabio Picuti, the prosecutor, had sought four-year terms for each of the defendants. Judge Billi's reason for the longer sentence imposed will be disclosed at a later date.
In his summing up, Mr Picuti told the court that the defendants had provided "an incomplete, inept, unsuitable and criminally mistaken" analysis which gave the residents of L'Aquila a false sense of security. He compared them to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, which came under fire for failing to assess the risks before Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans in 2005.
Enzi Boschi, the former president of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, who was among the seven found guilty, said he was "disappointed and devastated". He added: "I thought I would be cleared. I still don't understand of what I am accused."
Defence lawyers condemned the sentence and pledged to appeal. Under the Italian system, the seven will remain free until they have exhausted two chances to appeal.
