Mattarella accepts Milan prosecutors' review, confirms no grounds to revisit Nicole Minetti pardon

The presidential statement

President Sergio Mattarella has formally accepted the conclusions of the Milan Prosecutor General's Office, which conducted a fresh review into the pardon granted to Nicole Minetti. The Quirinale issued a statement confirming that the head of state "has taken respectful note of the conclusions of the Milan Prosecutor General's Office, according to which no grounds are found for a reassessment of the clemency measure adopted, reiterating his trust in the judiciary." The statement also thanked Justice Minister Carlo Nordio for promptly facilitating the new investigation.

The investigation's findings

The Prosecutor General's Office at the Milan Court of Appeal carried out the checks requested by the Presidency of the Republic and urged by the Ministry of Justice. The inquiry examined the alleged unfoundedness of the conditions that led to the pardon. According to the Quirinale, the Prosecutor General "ordered thorough checks in every necessary direction, through Italian police bodies and Interpol, reaching the conclusion that they do not correspond to the truth." The investigation was triggered by press reports, specifically articles in Il Fatto Quotidiano, which had raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the pardon.

The allegations examined

Il Fatto Quotidiano had reported claims about parties involving escorts and drugs at the Uruguayan ranch of Minetti and her partner Giuseppe Cipriani. The new investigation, which also drew on defensive inquiries by Minetti and Cipriani, concluded that the original picture remained unchanged: there were only social gatherings, not the alleged illicit parties. The inquiry did not include testimony from a masseuse who had spoken to Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Standard procedure defended

The Quirinale pushed back against suggestions of unusual secrecy surrounding the pardon. The statement noted that "for the pardon decree in question, the Quirinale did not deviate from usual behaviour, without any unusual secrecy: in most cases of granting a pardon, no press release is issued by the Quirinale, due to the presence of sensitive data." The presidency cited illnesses, family matters, involvement of children, and other delicate aspects that must be protected from disclosure.

The numbers on presidential pardons

To provide context, the Quirinale disclosed that during the current presidential mandate, which has lasted over four years, 42 pardons have been granted. Of these, 12 were made public through a press release, while 30 cases involved sensitive data and were not announced. The statement also emphasised that for over eleven years, whenever a pardon application is accompanied by a favourable opinion from the competent judicial bodies, the President of the Republic habitually grants the pardon "without being influenced by considerations extraneous to the humanitarian purposes of the pardon."