Rome’s outrage over the release of the owner of the bar where a deadly fire broke out on New Year’s Day is understandable, Swiss President Guy Parmelin said Sunday.
But Parmelin added that magistrates act independently.
The blaze that erupted early on January 1 in a bar crowded with teenagers in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, killed 40 people, including six Italian nationals, and injured more than 100.
The tragedy has reverberated across Italy’s media and public opinion.
The Italian Prime Minister’s office on Saturday said the decision to release bar owner Jacques Moretti on bail was “a serious affront and a further wound inflicted to the families of the Crans-Montana victims and of those who are still hospitalised”.
In comments to Corriere della Sera Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged Switzerland to heed Italy’s call to set up a joint investigative team.
Italy said it had instructed its ambassador to Switzerland to express its “deep indignation” to the chief prosecutor of the Valais canton and to travel to Rome to discuss further steps.
Italy formally protested the release on bail of the owner Saturday and recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, as the court’s decision came under criticism in both countries.
Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica, owners of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes linked to the blaze.
Jacques Moretti was detained on January 9 but released on bail Friday.
RELEASE ‘AN INSULT’ TO VICTIMS’ FAMILIES, PM MELONI SAYS
The Italian Prime Minister called his release “an affront to the memory of the victims of the New Year’s Eve tragedy and an insult to their families”.
Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed Italy’s ambassador to immediately contact the chief prosecutor in Switzerland’s Valais canton to convey Italy’s “strong indignation” over Moretti’s release.
The Italian government said the court had made the decision despite the seriousness of the alleged crime, the risk of flight and the possibility of evidence being compromised.
“The whole of Italy is clamouring for truth and justice, and is calling for respectful measures to be taken in the wake of this disaster, which take full account of the suffering and expectations of the families,” a statement said.
Meloni and Tajani also ordered Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado to return to Rome to determine what further action to take, it said.
A Swiss Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Moretti was released under a bail arrangement that included a 200,000 Swiss franc ($256,377) payment and an order to report daily to a police station.
Lawyers for the victims of the fire and their families said they were struggling to understand the court order, adding that their clients were concerned about evidence disappearing.
The Morettis have both expressed grief over the tragedy and said they would cooperate with prosecutors.
In a statement following Jacques Moretti’s release, their lawyers said they would both “continue to comply with all requests from the authorities”.
