«Cops out of the way...» and middle finger, rapper Marras acquitted: «The fact does not exist»

The trial for contempt of a public official related to the events that occurred during a concert on September 8, 2018 at the ex Me in Nuoro ended today . Judge Daniela Russo acquitted the rapper from Nuoro Bachisio Marras, aka Bakis Beks, with full formula: "Because the fact does not exist". Mirko Barca, Elia Zizi and Andrea Sanna, three spectators present that evening, were sentenced to four months in prison.

At the heart of the proceedings is the accusation leveled against the defendants following the performance of the song Messaggio, a song with strong political content against the presence of NATO military bases in Sardinia. According to the charges, Marras would have uttered the phrase “cops out of the way…” accompanied by a middle finger pointed at the officers. But already during the final discussion of the trial, the public prosecutor Alberto Pinna had asked for Marras' acquittal, underlining the uncertainty of the audio recordings and the lack of clear evidence. The judge accepted this thesis.

The assessment for the other three defendants was different. The judge considered that provocative and disrespectful attitudes towards the patrol that intervened at the end of the concert were proven, sentencing Barca, Zizi and Sanna to four months in prison, as requested by the prosecutor.

The defense, represented by the lawyer Giulia Lai, had asked for the acquittal of all the defendants, speaking of "misunderstandings and misinterpretations" and underlining the contradictions that emerged during the trial. In particular, it had highlighted the unreliability of the reconstruction made by the agents and the difficulty in clearly understanding what was said during the concert.

"Marras exercised his right to political criticism, protected by the Constitution," Lai declared. "He cannot be prosecuted for an artistic performance that falls fully within the scope of freedom of expression."

In the end, the judge sided with the defense regarding the rapper, but did not fully accept the request for acquittal for the other defendants.