Genoa Group of Eight Summit protest

In Genoa, where over 300,000 demonstrators gathered to protest the G8 summit from July 18 to July 22, 2001, the Police conducted nighttime raids upon convergence centers and campsites. Around midnight on July 21st, Police conducted a raid upon the two schools known as Diaz-Pascoli and Diaz-Pertini, in which activists had been sleeping and doing media, medical, and legal support work; the Diaz School raids resulted in 93 arrests, at least 61 activists severely injured, and a parliamentary inquiry [Guardian]. Police baton attacks during this raid left several activists, including journalist Mark Covell in comas, at least one with brain damage, and another with both jaws and fourteen teeth broken. In May, 2003, Judge Anna Ivaldi concluded that the activists arrested during the Diaz School raid had put up no resistance whatsoever to the police. In an unrelated incident, one of the protestors, Carlo Giuliani of Genoa, was killed by a Carabiniere while holding a fire extinguisher and engaged in a conflict between Carabinieri in a jeep and a group of protesters. Property within the city of Genoa was severely damaged by these events, and there was severe guerrilla warfare between police and civilians in its streets. For the first time in its republican history, Italy temporarily suspended the constitutional freedom of movement on the national territory. Since the G8 summit was held inside a "Red Zone" in the center of town that had been evacuated of inhabitants and surrounded by a temporary wall, there was no chance for protesters to communicate with the participants. Only one activist, Valerie Vie, secretary of a French branch of ATTAC, managed to publicly breach the Red Zone. There were several border riots leading up to the summit, as well, as police attempted to prevent suspected activists from entering Italy. An activist who had been heading to Genoa, Susanne Bendotti, was hit by a vehicle and killed on July 21st at the French-Italian border in Ventimiglia; another Genoa activist, Maria Jose Olivastri was found naked and strangled in a ditch in Padua, two weeks after the summit. Genoa demonstrator Eduardo Parodi, a close friend of Carlo Giuliani, died shortly after Genoa after experiencing severe health problems related to the use of CS gas. Rumors of further deaths and of Genoa demonstrators who remain missing after the summit continue to circulate. See photos from Genoa.