PD Senator

I wish to express my solidarity to Filippo Giunta, president and organizer of the Rototom Sunsplash festival, the event that take place every summer in Osoppo, who has been charged with violating Article 79 of the Fini-Giovanardi law.

I received an invitation from Filippo to take part in the 2009 edition of Rototom Sunsplash to speak on the biological will in one of the debates organized at the festival. I accepted the invitation with the greatest pleasure because this is one of the most important reggae festivals in the world, certainly the best in Europe, and is attended by many young people, with whom I had the opportunity to exchange interesting opinions.
Filippo Giunta– as provided by Article 79 of the Fini-Giovanardi law – is charged of “facilitating” the use of drugs in the festival grounds and for this reason he risks a jail sentence of three to ten years and a fine of 3,000 to 10,000 euro.
I would understand if Filippo had been a drug dealer who sold drugs at the festival. But I find it more difficult to understand a sentence to up to 10 years in jail because some people smoked joints at a music festival organized by him.
Since it was issued, nearly four years ago, the Giovanardi-Fini law has been applied twice to denounce behaviours similar to those of which Filippo is accused. Both times the charges were made in Bologna: one case is still under trial, whereas in the other, the defendants were fully acquitted.
What clearly emerges from the Rototom case is that the Fini-Giovanardi law contains many excesses.
As you may know, I have often expressed a strong stand against a law that puts all drugs on the same level and punishes beyond measure the users without solving the problem of drug abuse.
I therefore wish to underline once again my moral support to Filippo Giunta, hoping that this case will end rapidly with his acquittal. I hope that Rototom will continue to take place in Italy and that the Fini-Giovanardi law may be revised, distinguishing between various types of drugs and avoiding charges for those who use light drugs. As in many other countries across Europe, the action of law and order should focus against drug dealing and trafficking, which are in the hands of criminal organizations.

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