The first hearing in the trial for the killing of the Amarena bear, symbol of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, ended with a postponement due to procedural nullity. Judge Francesca D’Orazio found a formal flaw in the summons drawn up by the Prosecutor’s Office, which made it necessary to renew the documents. Consequently, the process will have to start from the beginning, with a new notification and a new hearing date.
The accused Andrea Leombruni, who had denounced himself for killing the bear cruelly and unnecessarily, will remain free until the proceedings are restarted. The situation has sparked disappointment and indignation among the environmentalist associations who have formed a civil party, ready to follow every stage of the process.
The reactions of the associations
There were around fifty environmental bodies and associations, together with the Abruzzo Region, constituted a civil party in the proceedings. These include PNALM, Municipality of Villalago, WWF Italy, ENPA, OIPA and Salviamo l’Orso. Everyone follows the case closely, underlining the seriousness of the killing of a reproductive female belonging to a subspecies at critical risk of extinction, with only around sixty specimens remaining.
In a note, LAV called the postponement a “new abrupt stop“attributable to a second procedural error by the Prosecutor’s Office.”From once done, let’s start again from the start, but LAV is ready to reconstitute itself as a civil party, so that whoever killed Amarena does not continue to gain time and freedom” declared Carlo Cimellaro, from the association’s legal office. ENPA also reiterated its commitment to following the process, recalling how the loss of Amarena represents a very hard blow for the survival of the species.
Justice is needed for Amarena
Amarena was killed in the night between 31 August and 1 September 2023 in San Benedetto dei Marsi, while she was with her two orphaned puppies. The episode profoundly shocked the environmentalist and local world, becoming a symbol of the need to protect wildlife and respect the regulations protecting protected species.
The new postponement of the trial, although based on formal issues, brings attention to the slow pace of justice in delicate cases and the need to ensure that those who commit crimes against wildlife do not go unpunished. Justice is needed for Amarena, her cubs and for the protection of the Marsican bear.
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