VATICAN CITY: A Vatican computer technician will go on trial on November 5 on charges of helping the pope’s former butler steal secret papers, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said yesterday.
Claudio Sciarpelletti’s trial follows the conviction of ex-butler Paolo Gabriele, who was found guilty of stealing papers which revealed fraud scandals and intrigue at the heart of the Vatican, and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
The 48-year-old technician was arrested on May 25 as the Vatican investigation into the leaks unfolded, but was released the following day.
He was initially due to stand in the dock with Gabriele in early October, but was granted a separate trial. His alleged role in stealing and leaking the memos is considered “rather marginal” by the judiciary, Lombardi said.
His trial is likely to be even shorter than Gabriele’s, the spokesman added. Gabriele spent months under house arrest but his trial in the so-called Vatileaks scandal lasted a week.
An envelope containing stolen documents and addressed to Gabriele was found in Sciarpelletti’s desk within the walls of the tiny state. He has claimed ignorance, insisting he had forgotten it was there and never opened it.
The technician has also admitted, however, that two people gave him envelopes containing documents to pass on to the butler.
Lombardi told a briefing following the release of the full judgement on Gabriele that the former butler could serve his 18 months in a Vatican cell — scotching earlier rumours that he would likely be jailed in Italy.
AFP
