'Vatileaks 2' trial continues in final phase

(Vatican Radio) On Tuesday, prosecutors in the so-called ‘Vatileaks 2’ case continued the final phase of the trial which sees five people accused of obtaining and leaking confidential Vatican documents which were subsequently published in two books.

In a statement, the Director of the Vatican Press Office, Fr Federico Lombardi, said three of the defendants – Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui and Nicola Maio - were present, while the two journalists – Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi – were represented by their lawyers. 

Tuesday’s hearing was dedicated to the defense of Msgr Vallejo Balda whose lawyer presented a closing statement in which she pleaded for full acquittal for her client of all charges regarding the disclosure of confidential documents. As a subsidiary plea, she pleaded for the acquittal of the crime of conspiracy ‘because the crime does not exist’ and, in this case, she asked for a minimum sentence, with extenuating circumstances, for the offense of ‘disclosure of confidential documents’.

This was followed by the closing statement of Chaouqui’s lawyer, which ended with the plea for full acquittal of all charges.

The defense is expected to conclude its presentation on Wednesday afternoon.