OP. Genova 2001

 OP. Genova 2001. Public Order during the G8' DVD (Italy, 2007]. 42 min. English ,French, Spanish and German subtitles version. Produced by the Secretariat of the Genoa Legal Forum. OP is a detailed examination of the events of the 20th of July 2001, when marches and rallies around the red zone were heavily attacked by the police. Through maps, recordings of police radio communications and other evidence gathered in the course of the trial against 25 demonstrators, the film exposes the way the police forces turned the streets of Genoa into a war zone. Who was the real threat to Public Order at the 2001 G8?

G8 in Genoa
For the movement born in Seattle in 1999, Genoa in 2001 was meant to stand for the convergence of local and global struggles and a radical critique of economic development and neoliberal globalisation. However, instead of this, G8 in Genoa has become symbolic of the violent repression of protest, police attacks, the murdering of Carlo Giuliani, illegal arrests, beatings and torture. And this repression did not stop after the G8, but continued in court. Many people, who in their various ways took part in the movement, now stand accused with charges which are disproportionate to the alleged facts, indeed as disproportionate as the police violence had been during the G8. The Genoese public prosecutor’s office chose to accuse demonstrators of the offense of devastation and plundering; the same offense that the 93 people who were arrested at the Diaz school were accused of and which has the penalty of between 8 and 15 years in jail. And the cases against Genoa demonstrators initiated an era of repression against the radical parts of the movement all over Italy. The trials are complex. To face them, much committed and engaged work has been necessary. The structure that coordinates this work is the Genoa Legal Forum (GLF).