Ticino
Chaos at the criminal court: Lewd WhatsApp messages and criminal charges against fellow judges
Bullying, sexism and a criminal escalation in the judges’ college: In Ticino, the criminal judges are engaged in an internal mudslinging match. A special prosecutor from Graubünden has now been appointed.
The Ticino public is rubbing its eyes. It has been known for months that there is great tension within the panel of judges of the Ticino Criminal Court based in Lugano (Tribunale penale cantonale).
But now the situation has escalated. Two judges, Siro Quadri and Francesca Verda Chiocchetti, have filed a criminal complaint against their three colleagues, including the president of the Ticino criminal court, Mauro Ermani. The charges are libel and defamation.
Accusations of sexism: Mauro Ermani, President of the Ticino Criminal Court.
Image: Pablo Gianinazzi/Ti-Press
The situation is delicate, so delicate that the Ticino Attorney General Andrea Pagani has asked for a public prosecutor from outside the canton to handle the criminal complaint. The Ticino cantonal government complied with the request and this week entrusted the chief public prosecutor of the canton of Graubünden, Franco Passini, with the case as an extraordinary public prosecutor.
The internal disputes in the criminal court, which were connected to an alleged case of mobbing against a court secretary, had already become public in April. At that time, the Judicial Council dealt with the mutual accusations, but mediation between the two factions within the panel of judges failed.
The case is not yet closed administratively. The cantonal government gave the former public prosecutor and lawyer Maria Galliani a mandate to clarify the bullying allegations at an administrative level, a questionable mandate since Galliani is in professional contact with the judges in the context of the cases she handles.
What is particularly explosive about the criminal complaint that has now been filed is an attached photo that court president Ermani sent to the alleged victim of bullying via WhatsApp on February 3, 2023. It shows a woman sitting on a bench between two gigantic plastic phalluses. The title is “Tribunale penale”, with “penale” in this context being a clear allusion to the word penis. The daily newspaper “La Regione” published the vulgar photo; the publication hit like a bomb.
“This story will not end well”
These are not the first raunchy messages from Ermani to become public. The center cantonal party president and president of the Grand Council’s Justice Commission, Fiorenzo Dadò, said in response: “We have reached rock bottom.” And several commentators pointed out that Ermani also presides over trials in the area of sexual crimes. The fact that he of all people is sharing such images seems more than inappropriate, even if it was a joke.
The Ticino Justice Director Norman Gobbi (Lega) was quoted in the cantonal media as saying: “This story will not end well.” In a press release, the Greens demanded that the cantonal Justice Council consider a provisional suspension of Judge Mauro Ermani. The left-wing Movement for Socialism is demanding that the court president resign immediately and is submitting a motion to the Grand Council to exercise supreme supervision over the judiciary.
Certain women’s organizations, which normally react quickly to cases of sexual harassment with a press release, remained silent. Ermani is associated with the SP party.
One thing is certain: the opaque incidents in the criminal court and the criminal charges against colleagues have caused serious damage to the image of the Ticino justice system. Only a few weeks ago, on June 9, a vote was held on whether the Ticino justice authorities should be given a new and dignified seat in the former Banca del Gottardo in the center of Lugano. The electorate clearly said no. And many of those who said no will now feel vindicated.
