"Unlike what was reported by some media, I have never requested Giulia Ligresti's release, nor induced anyone else to take initiatives in this sense", but "I will not hesitate to take a step back if I verify that it is cracked or is the institutional esteem has failed on which I believe the foundations of my mandate should rest. I consider Parliament's trust crucial for the continuation of my role as minister”. This was stated by the Minister of Justice, Anna Maria Cancellieri, reporting to the Senate on the phone call with Salvatore Ligresti's partner on the basis of which the 5 Star Movement presented two motions of no confidence in her.
"Not everyone has the opportunity to knock on the minister's door - added the Minister of Justice -, but I cannot get the idea that the Italian penitentiary system is not structured to respond promptly to reports that in any way bring out dangerous situations for inmates. I take responsibility for these reports personally with almost daily conversations with the heads of the penitentiary system", because "every life that is extinguished in the course of detention is a defeat for the State. The recent speech by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, is the most authoritative testimony to the importance of this issue and constitutes a stimulus for me”.
Cancellieri then specified that “it is necessary to verify the validity of the reports, as was done in the case of Mrs. Ligresti. Her critical condition was already known before my intervention and the Vercelli prison had already implemented the necessary measures ”. According to the minister, “the reconstruction according to which Giulia Ligresti's release is due to my intervention is therefore devoid of any foundation. There is no connection between my behavior and the decisions taken in prison: mine was only a transmission of information”.
As for relations with the Ligresti family, “I was and am a friend of Antonino Ligrsti for reasons completely unrelated to my professional activity – continued Cancellieri -, but in no way have I been conditioned by external relationships in the exercise of my profession. I am a free person, who has no debts of gratitude. Even my son, Piergiorgio Peluso, was unduly dragged into this affair".
Finally, in that famous telephone call of July 17, “I intended to show human closeness to a person deeply prostrated by what had happened to his family. I realize that some expressions may have been misinterpreted, but I can state that I have acted without ever derogating from my duties as a minister, exactly as I have done in many other cases, more than a hundred in recent months. From these clarifications I hope that the uniformity and coherence of my conduct will emerge".
