Ticino State Councillor Zali loses department following second criminal investigation
Ticino State Councillor Claudio Zali was removed as department head following the emergence of a second criminal investigation against him. Zali contests all charges and refuses to resign immediately.
Zali removed from department – and defends himself with written statement
After a second criminal investigation against Ticino State Councillor Claudio Zali became public, the cantonal government has removed him as head of the Department for Territory. This is reported by 20 Minuten. Raffaele De Rosa was appointed as acting director. Zali himself remains a member of the State Council until 30 September.
Zali refused the immediate resignation that his fellow councillors had demanded. Although he had already announced his departure – however, scheduled for a later date. The government responded on Wednesday with his forced removal from office.
State Council President Marina Carobbio spoke clearly at the press conference: "The alleged crimes are very serious, and the government takes them very seriously. These events have called into question not only the role of Claudio Zali, but also that of the entire government."
Zali: "false report" by a now deceased woman
Shortly before the press conference, Zali released a written statement in which he rejected all accusations. The investigation – which concerns offences against sexual integrity – was opened on the basis of a false report by the 52-year-old woman who drowned tragically in Melide on 18 August. The woman had harboured a "deep grudge" against him and had already committed the crime of secretly recording conversations with him.
Zali further emphasised that in this case the person who made the report did not herself appear as the alleged victim, but rather a third party. This person refuted the accusations in lengthy questioning in the presence of her legal representative and furthermore did not constitute herself as a private prosecutor – she is not thus appearing as a party to the proceedings.
"In this investigation there is thus no longer a complainant, there was never a victim, and the accused credibly contests all accusations," Zali wrote. He criticised the public prosecutor's office for publicly confirming the existence of the investigation before it had been dropped, and accused it of yielding to "pressure from certain media outlets".
"With the calm of an innocent person"
Zali reiterates his full confidence in the public prosecutor's office and the justice system – "with the calm of an innocent person", as he puts it. He expects the investigation to be concluded in the coming weeks.
A further resignation is out of the question for him under these circumstances: such action would "inevitably be understood by many as an admission of responsibility that in reality does not exist". He will remain in office until the date he has set himself.
In conclusion, Zali appeals to his fellow councillors and the public to respect the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Federal Constitution "in deed and not merely in words".
Source: 20 Minuten