Italian scientists face jail over 2009 quake 
 
 Top Italian scientists are set to go on trial today, accused of manslaughter by playing down the risks of the devastating 2009 earthquake in the central city of L'Aquila in a case that some see as an unfair indictment of science. 
 
 Prosecutors allege that the seven defendants — six leading scientists and a government official — should have warned residents to flee their homes ahead of the April 6, 2009 quake that killed more than 300 people in the capital of Italy's Abruzzo region. 
 
 The experts were members of a panel that had met six days before the quake to assess risks after hundreds of tremors had shaken the medieval walled city. 
 
 At that meeting, the committee headed by Franco Barberi of the Civil Protection Agency analysed data on more than 400 low-magnitude tremors that shook the region during the previous four months and determined that the activity was not a prelude to a major quake. 
 
 The experts are accused of giving overly reassuring information to the local residents who could have taken adequate protective measures if they had been properly informed. 
 
 According to the indictment issued last May, the seven are suspected of "negligence and imprudence... of having provided an approximative, generic and ineffective assessment of seismic activity risks as well as incomplete, imprecise and contradictory information." 
 
 The seven include such prominent scientists as Enzo Boschi, until recently the president of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), or Claudio Eva, a physics professor at the University of Genoa. 
 
 The experts had made it clear that it was not possible to predict whether a stronger quake would occur but had recommended stricter enforcement of anti-seismic measures, particularly regarding building construction. 
 
 Many in the scientific community however argue that the case effectively amounts to putting science on trial. 
 
 In an open letter sent to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, more than 5,000 scientists said the seven defendants essentially face criminal charges for failing to predict quakes, even though it remains technically impossible to pinpoint the time, location and strength of a future earthquake in the short term. 
 
 "This is a trial which opens on very shaky foundations. You cannot put science on trial," said Alfredo Biondi, Eva's lawyer, who recalled that his client had during the meeting of the expert panel stated that "one cannot rule out a major quake". 
 
 The lawyer also slammed the "absolute inconsistency of the prosecution" which first blamed the experts for "predicting the risk" and then for "failing to assess it". 
 
 But Vincenzo Vittorini, a doctor who founded the association "309 martyrs" and lost his wife and daughter in the disaster, said, "I hope that this trial will change mindsets and will lead to greater attention given to communication on risks." 
 
 "No one expected to be told the exact time of the quake. We just wanted to be warned that we were sitting on a bomb," he added 
 
 Some 120,000 people were affected by the L'Aquila quake, which also destroyed the city's historic centers and medieval churches. 
 
 In the September 14 issue of the science weekly Nature focused on the L'Aquila trial, Thomas Jordan, head of the International Commission on Earthquake Forecasting (ICEF), said the case raises a fundamentally important issue about risk assessment. 
 
 Italy's INGV has for several years drawn up a map of seismic risks in Italy and L'Aquila has since 2006 been within the highest-risk zone. ||||| Image caption The earthquake devastated the city of L'Aquila and many surrounding villages 
 
 The trial of six Italian scientists and a former government official for manslaughter over the 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila has opened in the city. 
 
 The 6.3 magnitude quake devastated the city and killed 309 people. 
 
 Prosecutors allege the defendants gave a falsely reassuring statement before the quake after studying hundreds of tremors that had shaken the city. 
 
 The defence argues that there is no way to predict major earthquakes even in a seismically active area. 
 
 The prosecutors accuse the seven of "negligence and imprudence... of having provided an approximate, generic and ineffective assessment of seismic activity risks as well as incomplete, imprecise and contradictory information". 
 
 As the trial opened, L'Aquila prosecutor Alfredo Rossini told reporters: "We simply want justice." 
 
 The defendants face up to 15 years in jail. Lawyers for civil plaintiffs - who include the local council - are seeking damages of 50m euros (£45m). The civil portion of the case will be heard alongside the criminal case. 
 
 Only one of the seven defendants - who include some of Italy's most distinguished geophysicists and members of the country's civil protection agency - was present on the opening day of the trial, which has now been adjourned until 1 October. 
 
 "I thought it was important to be here because this is my land, and I also wanted to underline the professionalism and the quality of the other public officials," said Bernardo De Bernardinis, former vice-president of the Civil Protection Agency's technical department. 
 
 "I am from Abruzzo and I owe it to the people of this area." 
 
 Killed in homes 
 
 The seven defendants were members of a government panel, the Serious Risks Commission, tasked with assessing the risks after hundreds of low-level tremors had rattled the medieval city in the months before the earthquake struck. 
 
 DEFENDANTS Franco Barberi , head of Serious Risks Commission 
 
 , head of Serious Risks Commission Enzo Boschi , former president of the National Institute of Geophysics 
 
 , former president of the National Institute of Geophysics Giulio Selvaggi , director of the National Earthquake Centre 
 
 , director of the National Earthquake Centre Gian Michele Calvi , director of European Centre for Earthquake Engineering 
 
 , director of European Centre for Earthquake Engineering Claudio Eva , physicist 
 
 , physicist Mauro Dolce , director of the the Civil Protection Agency's earthquake risk office 
 
 , director of the the Civil Protection Agency's earthquake risk office Bernardo De Bernardinis, former vice-president of the Civil Protection Agency's technical department 
 
 A week before the quake, they issued a reassuring statement, while also saying that it was not possible to predict whether a stronger quake would occur. They also recommended stricter enforcement of anti-seismic measures, particularly in building construction. 
 
 In the minutes of their meeting, held on 31 March 2009, Mr Bosci, the former president of the National Institute of Geophysics, is reported to have told the group that just because a number of small tremors had been observed, it did not mean that a major earthquake was on its way. 
 
 Mr Barberi, who headed the Serious Risks Commission, was also reported as concluding that there was "no reason to believe that a series of low-level tremors was a precursor to a larger event". 
 
 On the night of the quake, many people remained in their homes and died because of this advice, while others who had decided to remain outside in the street survived, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome. 
 
 Vincenzo Vittorini, a doctor who founded the 309 Martyrs association after losing his wife and daughter in the disaster, said: "No-one expected to be told the exact time of the quake. We just wanted to be warned that we were sitting on a bomb." 
 
 The case has attracted the attention of the scientific community. Last year, more than 5,000 scientists signed an open letter to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in support of the defendants. 
 
 A lawyer for Mr Eva, Alfredo Biondi, said the trial was not credible. 
 
 "This is a trial which opens on very shaky foundations. You cannot put science on trial," he said. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the prosecution argued that the scientists were "just too reassuring" 
 
 Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over the 2009 deadly earthquake in L'Aquila. 
 
 A regional court found them guilty of multiple manslaughter. 
 
 Prosecutors said the defendants gave a falsely reassuring statement before the quake, while the defence maintained there was no way to predict major quakes. 
 
 The 6.3 magnitude quake devastated the city and killed 309 people. 
 
 Many smaller tremors had rattled the area in the months before the quake that destroyed much of the historic centre. 
 
 It took Judge Marco Billi slightly more than four hours to reach the verdict in the trial, which had begun in September 2011. 
 
 Lawyers have said that they will appeal against the sentence. As convictions are not definitive until after at least one level of appeal in Italy, it is unlikely any of the defendants will immediately face prison. 
 
 'Alarming' case 
 
 The seven - all members of the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks - were accused of having provided "inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory" information about the danger of the tremors felt ahead of 6 April 2009 quake, Italian media report. 
 
 Analysis The Apennines, the belt of mountains that runs down through the centre of Italy, is riddled with faults, and the "Eagle" city of L'Aquila has been hammered time and time again by earthquakes. Its glorious old buildings have had to be patched up and re-built on numerous occasions. Sadly, the issue is not "if" but "when" the next tremor will occur in L'Aquila. But it is simply not possible to be precise about the timing of future events. Science does not possess that power. The best it can do is talk in terms of risk and of probabilities, the likelihood that an event of a certain magnitude might occur at some point in the future. The decision to prosecute some of Italy's leading geophysicists drew condemnation from around the world. The scholarly bodies said it had been beyond anyone to predict exactly what would happen in L'Aquila on 6 April 2009. But the authorities who pursued the seven defendants stressed that the case was never about the power of prediction - it was about what was interpreted to be an inadequate characterisation of the risks; of being misleadingly reassuring about the dangers that faced their city. Nonetheless, the verdicts will come as a shock to all researchers in Italy whose expertise lies in the field of assessing natural hazards. Their pronouncements will be scrutinised as never before, and their fear will be that they too could find themselves embroiled in legal action over statements that are inherently uncertain. 
 
 In addition to their sentences, all have been barred from ever holding public office again, La Repubblica reports. 
 
 In the closing statement, the prosecution quoted one of its witnesses, whose father died in the earthquake. 
 
 It described how Guido Fioravanti had called his mother at about 11:00 on the night of the earthquake - straight after the first tremor. 
 
 "I remember the fear in her voice. On other occasions they would have fled but that night, with my father, they repeated to themselves what the risk commission had said. And they stayed." 
 
 'Hasty sentence' 
 
 The judge also ordered the defendants to pay court costs and damages. 
 
 Reacting to the verdict against him, Bernardo De Bernardinis said: "I believe myself to be innocent before God and men." 
 
 "My life from tomorrow will change," the former vice-president of the Civil Protection Agency's technical department said, according to La Repubblica. 
 
 "But, if I am judged by all stages of the judicial process to be guilty, I will accept my responsibility." 
 
 Another, Enzo Boschi, described himself as "dejected" and "desperate" after the verdict was read. 
 
 "I thought I would have been acquitted. I still don't understand what I was convicted of." 
 
 One of the lawyers for the defence, Marcello Petrelli, described the sentences as "hasty" and "incomprehensible". 
 
 'Inherently unpredictable' 
 
 The case has alarmed many in the scientific community, who feel science itself has been put on trial. 
 
 THOSE CONVICTED Franco Barberi , head of Serious Risks Commission 
 
 , head of Serious Risks Commission Enzo Boschi , former president of the National Institute of Geophysics 
 
 , former president of the National Institute of Geophysics Giulio Selvaggi , director of National Earthquake Centre 
 
 , director of National Earthquake Centre Gian Michele Calvi , director of European Centre for Earthquake Engineering 
 
 , director of European Centre for Earthquake Engineering Claudio Eva , physicist 
 
 , physicist Mauro Dolce , director of the the Civil Protection Agency's earthquake risk office 
 
 , director of the the Civil Protection Agency's earthquake risk office Bernardo De Bernardinis (pictured), former vice-president of Civil Protection Agency's technical department 
 
 Some scientists have warned that the case might set a damaging precedent, deterring experts from sharing their knowledge with the public for fear of being targeted in lawsuits, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome reports. 
 
 Among those convicted were some of Italy's most prominent and internationally respected seismologists and geological experts. 
 
 Earlier, more than 5,000 scientists signed an open letter to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in support of the group in the dock. 
 
 After the verdict was announced, David Rothery, of the UK's Open University, said earthquakes were "inherently unpredictable". 
 
 "The best estimate at the time was that the low-level seismicity was not likely to herald a bigger quake, but there are no certainties in this game," he said. 
 
 Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics at the UK's Royal Berkshire Hospital said that the sentence was surprising and could set a worrying precedent. 
 
 "If the scientific community is to be penalised for making predictions that turn out to be incorrect, or for not accurately predicting an event that subsequently occurs, then scientific endeavour will be restricted to certainties only and the benefits that are associated with findings from medicine to physics will be stalled."
– Predicting earthquakes is shaky business at best, but that detail isn't stopping Italian officials from prosecuting a group of prominent scientists over their failure to do exactly that. Six scientists and one government official face charges of manslaughter for allegedly failing to provide adequate warning of imminent disaster to locals after the region was struck by more than 400 low-magnitude tremors in the months preceding a major quake. The group of experts met in 2009 to analyze the risk posed by the seismic activity, but didn't find cause to raise alarm. Six days later, a major quake devastated the central Italian city of L'Aquila and killed 309 people, reports the AFP. Among the defendants are some of Italy's top scientists in the field. "You cannot put science on trial," says a defense lawyer, citing his client's statement during the expert panel meeting that "one cannot rule out a major quake." The group has gained the wide support of the scientific community. But "no one expected to be told the exact time of the quake," says a doctor who lost his wife and daughter in the quake. "We just wanted to be warned that we were sitting on a bomb." The trial opened today, and the BBC notes that seven defendants face up to 15 years in jail.