The French embassy sent Italy’s foreign ministry a note saying France is prepared to transfer all documentation concerning the Ustica disaster. The material may include files from the French defence ministry related to earlier judicial assistance requests from prosecutors in Rome. Il Sole 24 Ore reports that the records cover a long period extending into the 1990s; French authorities also say they are willing to consider further Italian requests.
Italy’s foreign ministry sent the file through the office of the prime minister to the Justice Ministry, which forwarded it to the Rome prosecutor’s office. In light of the development, prosecutors may withdraw their request to archive the case at a 30 September hearing before a preliminary investigations judge. The disaster occurred in 1980 and killed 81 people.
Daria Bonfietti, president of the Ustica victims’ families association, welcomed France’s readiness to cooperate and called it a major result. She recalled that the association had asked Italy’s prime minister in mid-June to contact French President Emmanuel Macron. Bonfietti said the families will now seek to understand which documents will arrive.
The document transfer and any withdrawal of the request to close the case do not establish what caused the disaster. The next steps depend on the contents of the archive and the prosecution’s position at the upcoming hearing.