Rome, 1 September (LaPresse) – “The defence will lodge an appeal with the Court of Appeal in L’Aquila.” This was stated by Simone Pillon, defence lawyer for the so-called ‘family in the woods’, in an interview on the programme ‘Ore 11’ on Retequattro. The decision stems from a number of points raised by the lawyer, who emphasised: “With all due respect to the L’Aquila Juvenile Court, the defence team for Mr and Mrs Birmingham-Trevallion cannot refrain from raising certain further points which, in our view, deserve to be rectified in the best interests of the children. Firstly, due to the delay in the decision, the children have been denied the right to spend at least a few days’ holiday with their mum and dad. It is hoped that these periods can be made up for soon. Secondly – he explains – the judges failed to take into account the repeated warnings from experts in child neuropsychiatry, the defence and the court’s own technical adviser regarding the need for an immediate and permanent return to the family and the risk to the children’s health posed by their continued placement outside the family. Thirdly, the excessive gradualism and the uncertainty surrounding the final reunification cannot be justified by the family situation, which is by no means at risk of abuse and has largely resolved the housing and relationship issues initially raised.”
“Family in the Woods”, Pillon: ‘We will lodge an appeal with the Court of Appeal in L’Aquila’
Rome, 1 September (LaPresse) – “The defence will lodge an appeal with the Court of Appeal in L’Aquila.” This was stated by Simone Pillon, defence lawyer for the so-called ‘family in the woods’, in an interview on the programme ‘Ore 11’ on Retequattro. The decision stems from a number of points raised by the lawyer, who emphasised: “With all due respect to the L’Aquila Juvenile Court, the defence team for Mr and Mrs Birmingham-Trevallion cannot refrain from raising certain further points which, in our view, deserve to be rectified in the best interests of the children. Firstly, due to the delay in the decision, the children have been denied the right to spend at least a few days’ holiday with their mum and dad. It is hoped that these periods can be made up for soon. Secondly – he explains – the judges failed to take into account the repeated warnings from experts in child neuropsychiatry, the defence and the court’s own technical adviser regarding the need for an immediate and permanent return to the family and the risk to the children’s health posed by their continued placement outside the family. Thirdly, the excessive gradualism and the uncertainty surrounding the final reunification cannot be justified by the family situation, which is by no means at risk of abuse and has largely resolved the housing and relationship issues initially raised.”