Italian anti‑mafia prosecutors appeal to Supreme Court over Maestrale trial ruling

The Prosecutor General of Catanzaro has filed an appeal to the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) challenging a decision by the Court of Appeal that declared the anti‑mafia Direction District Antimafia's (DDA) appeal inadmissible in the massive Maestrale‑Olimpo‑Imperium trial.

The appellate court ruled the appeal, filed on 30 October 2025, was invalid because it was not submitted through the mandatory electronic portal introduced on 31 March 2025. Prosecutors argue that transitional provisions still permitted alternative filing methods and that the extraordinary size of the case – involving more than 280 defendants and a voluminous docket – caused technical difficulties with the telematic system.

The case concerns the Vibonese mafia clans. In the abbreviated first‑instance proceedings on 20 March 2025, 35 defendants received total or partial acquittals, although the original charges carried prison terms ranging from 8 to 18 years. The prosecution seeks the Supreme Court’s annulment of the appellate order and a full review of the acquittals on their merits.