Geschrieben von tick am 23.02.2003 um 14:42:
www.cyclingnews.com says:
Coincidence or not, Friday's TG2 news broadcast of the hotel room surveillance tapes of Giro d'Italia cyclists has continued to cause a furor, coming as it did one day after the Florence state prosecutor Bocciolini released his list of 51 riders & team staff that could be indicted as a result of the inquest from the 2001 Giro d'Italia San Remo "blitz".
Padova state prosecutor Paola Cameran, who is running a separate inquest on doping in cycling told La Gazzetta dello Sport's Pier Bergonzi that "this (TV report) is coming from the clouds... I have absolutely not authorized any transmission of these images and I'm wondering how they have come to be in the hands of any journalists." Cameran explained that the only people who are in possession of copies of the hotel room surveillance tapes should be the defence attorneys, and she was further perplexed how releasing them to the media could help the riders under investigation. "This is crazy and it won't help our investigation," an angry Cameran told Bergonzi. "It is a very serious matter."
Amedeo Colombo, the new head of the Italian Professional Riders Association, also had strong words for the RAI2 journalists in his press release. "The TV called these shocking images, but the real shock was how TG2 just put this on the air... casual images that deserved to be explained further."
Furthermore, Colombo threatened RAI with a lawsuit, saying "they can't arbitrarily put these images on TV which are evidence in an ongoing case! Plus there was no respect for the privacy of the people who are being investigated."
Prominent among those being investigated in Padova prosecutor Cameran's inquest is two time Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Gotti. Currently without a team, Gotti was in denial about the TV broadcast, saying that "I didn't even want to look at this... I asked my lawyer and he told me that in the evidence that concerns me, there are no filmed images that (prosecutor Cameran) could find (legally) compromising." However, knowledgeable sources told Cyclingnews that Gotti closely resembles the semi-nude man who had allegedly injected himself in the hotel bathroom. Gotti was hoping to race again this season, but despite the fact that he had prescriptions for any substances that he had in his possession when searched by NAS, the two-time Giro winner from Villa d'Alme may be just too hot for any team to sign right now.
Outrage crackled from Davide Rebellin over the TG2 broadcast as well. Rebellin, who was included in the initial investigation by Cameran but later cleared said that "These shots are just ads that show kids how to dope in cycling and show the most negative aspects of the situation without telling the truth. Besides that, there is the matter of privacy. Before any trial even starts, 60 million Italians can see without the correct information." La Gazzetta dello Sport's Pier Bergonzi told Cyclingnews that "these riders may not have been using banned substances at all, but these images made them look terrible without proof of any wrongdoing."