Five jailed in plea bargains over Costa Concordia luxury liner disaster
Court accepts plea bargains in Costa Concordia sinking, but relatives of victims are furious
An Italian court yesterday accepted plea bargains ranging from 18 to 34 months in prison for five suspects in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, media reported.
The five include Roberto Ferrarini, the director of ship owner Costa Crociere's crisis unit, Jacob Rusli Bin, the luxury liner's Indonesian helmsman, as well as a deputy of Captain Francesco Schettino and two other crew members.
Schettino, who is accused of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship, is currently the only one standing trial for the deadly accident off Giglio island in Tuscany which claimed 32 lives in January last year.
On Wednesday, when Schettino's trial opened, his lawyers requested a sentencing deal of three years and five months in prison for admitting responsibility but were refused. They renewed the request yesterday.
Civil plaintiffs who want to see justice served for their lost loved ones have expressed fury over the clemency offered Schettino's co-defendants.
"We were expecting this, but these plea bargains are unfair," Daniele Bocciolini, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, told La Repubblica newspaper. "They and Schettino are obviously not getting the same treatment. He should not be the only culprit."
Under the plea agreements accepted by the court in Grosseto in the central Tuscany region, Ferrarini received the longest sentence of two years and 10 months in prison.