VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
The Secretariat of State’s computer technician, Paolo Sciarpelletti, is appealing against the Vatican tribunal’s sentence
Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City
He risks dismissal, has two children and will not accept being called a poison pen letter writer. Paolo Sciarpelletti, the Secretariat of State’s computer technician who was tried for his involvement in the Vatican document leak scandal, has presented an appeal against the sentence handed down from the Vatican tribunal. Sciarpelletti was sentenced to four months in prison but the court that granted extenuation reduced this period to two. The sentence was suspended for five years.
Sciarpelletti’s lawyer had stated that the defence would be appeal against the sentence because a suspension put his client at risk of being dismissed from his position. Sources close the Sciarpelletti say he had rejected jobs offering him 10 thousand Euros a month just to serve the Holy Father. Now, it’s back to the courtroom for a new chapter in the Vatileaks legal battle. Claudio Sciarpelletti set up the Vatican’s cloud system so the delicate nature of the documents handled makes the computer technician’s trial a very “sensitive” event.
Unlike the Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, Sciarpelletti has decided to fight. He presented his appeal Tuesday, at the end of the three day deadline established by the Vatican Code of Penal Procedure. The reasons for the court’s decision will be published in the next few weeks. The Vatican Promoter of Justice, Nicola Picardi sentenced Sciarpelletti on charged of “obstructing the search for the truth” regarding the theft and publication of confidential letters belonging to the Pope, obstructing the course of justice.
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