Italy's consulate will keep up is assistance in the case of 25-year-old Masters student Matteo Falcinelli, who was arrested for two days and brutalised by police in Miami on 24-25 February - events which left him injured and traumatised according to his family and his lawyer.
Foreign minister Antonio Tajani has taken a personal interest in Falcinelli's case and has urged US ambassador Jack Markel to give it maximum attention, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
"The government considers it its duty to follow every case involving the detention of Italian citizens abroad," the statement underlined.
"Upon arrest, Mr Falcinelli was subjected to particularly violent detention treatment which was recorded by police body-cams," the foreign ministry said. Falcinell's defence obtained the footage from police on 12 April.
Falcinelli's family has vowed to press charges against police and hold them accountable for Falcinelli's ordeal and the violence he suffered at the hands of Miami police. This included being thrown face down on to asphalt and hog-tied after his arrest as he left a nightclub for alleged crimes including non-violent resistance to a public official.
The Falcinelli family lawyer Francesco Maresco is considering involving Rome prosecutors in the case "considering what this Italian citizen endured," Maresco told Adnkronos.
Falcinelli, who is from Spoleto, says he suffers nightmares, flashbacks and has nerve damage to his hands caused by the ropes which police bound him with. His mother alleges Falcinelli told her he suffered "torture". He has been living in the US for the past three years.
"Until this matter concludes, the consulate general and the foreign ministry will continue to assist our compatriot, maintaining close contact with his family," the statement underlined.
Amnesty International has called Falcinelli's treatment "illegal and lacking any justification from the point of view of security".
.jpg)
.jpg)
