By Staff Reporter
FOUR Manchester United football fans have been released from an Italian jail after an appeal hearing in Rome.
Among them was Michael Burk, aged 35, from Little Hulton, who was sentenced to two years and five months in prison last December following fights between rival supporters before the Champions League game with Roma.
He had been jailed for violent behaviour and resisting arrest, along with three other United fans: Kyle Dillon, aged 23, Richard Wimmer, aged 39, and Nicholas Lucas, aged 18.
All four were freed at an appeal hearing yesterday after being presented with a deal by the public prosecutor.
They each pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and accepted 16-month suspended sentences in return for immediate release and having two other charges dropped.
Mr Burk's family and friends had been campaigning for his release with the support of Worsley MP Barbara Keeley.
Ms Keeley said: "I have campaigned on this issue since I found out all the problems with the representation and trial process of Michael Burk. I felt it was a wrongful conviction.
"I am pleased that my constituent has now received a fair hearing and has won back his freedom."
The MP had been concerned about the shortened trial procedure following the fans' arrest and the lack of a court interpreter for Mr Burk.
She recently raised the case in the Commons with the Europe Minister, Jim Murphy.
Mr Burk's partner, Carmon Ducker, had lobbied MPs during a trip to London last month. His fiancee had also written to football celebrities to enlist their help.
Italian media claimed the four men had been part of a group of 20 United supporters who had caused trouble in Rome that night.
Fighting was broken up with two baton charges by riot police. Five United fans were stabbed during the incident.
Greater Manchester Police had provided "spotters" to work with Italian police outside the Stadio Olimpico, but there were conflicting reports as to whether they had correctly identified the four men as troublemakers.
Saturday 3 May 2008
Jailed Man United fans freed after winning appeal in Rome
· Sentences were reduced and then suspended
· Supporters claim the four men were set up by police
* Tom Kington in Rome
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 3 2008
Four Manchester United fans locked up in Italian jails since December walked free yesterday, after winning an appeal to get charges for fighting with Rome police reduced and their sentences cut.
Friends and relatives of the men celebrated outside a Rome court after the decision, claiming the four had been set up by police to make an example of them, and that they had been beaten by officers and denied access to proper legal assistance.
"I am absolutely elated," said Janet Dillon, whose son Kyle, 24, was originally sentenced to two years and five months for clashing with police and local fans outside Rome's Olympic stadium on December 12, ahead of Manchester United's Champions League match with Roma.
Fellow fan Richard Wimmer, 39, received the same sentence, while Nicholas Lukacs, 18 and Michael Burke, 35, received two years and four months.
Yesterday the sentences were reduced to 16 months, allowing the release of the four on suspended sentences. Defence lawyer Roberta Ceschini said she had not seen the judge's ruling, but that it was likely two charges of violence had been dropped.
At the hearing, the men pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, but relatives claimed they were innocent. "We were advised to accept this verdict in order to get the boys home immediately," said Lukacs's sister Katerina. Seeking to overturn all charges would have led to a longer trial, said Ceschini.
Janet Dillon, whose son is registered as partially sighted, said she would now seek to overturn the remaining charge.
Lukacs's mother, Anne, said her son, now saddled with a criminal record, would be unable to return to his job at a law firm.
"There is no such word as justice here," said Carmon Ducker, Burke's girlfriend.
On December 12, the four fans ignored advice from Manchester United to board a laid-on bus that would have taken them into the Olympic stadium, preferring to catch a city bus which left them on the Duca D'Aosta bridge nearby. "The fan buses were arriving four to five hours before the game and they were concerned about what had happened inside the stadium at the previous match," said Janet Dillon.
Manchester fans were baton charged in the stands in April 2007 by police.
At their trial, the four were accused of throwing objects and clashing with Roma fans and police on the bridge, but Ceschini said that charge had now weakened.
"The men would have been difficult to identify at the scene and the evidence against them appeared inconsistent," she said.
Relatives said that the four had also been persuaded to face a rapid trial with limited evidence in December. "Thanks to poor translators they were under the impression they would sign and go home," said Anne Lukacs.
"They were made into scapegoats," said Janet Dillon.
The sentence appears to have worked as a warning. One fan who returned to Rome in April for Manchester's subsequent Champions League game said few supporters were prepared "to walk the bridge" to get to the stadium.
When Janet Dillon saw her son in prison on Christmas Eve, he was still bruised from being headbutted and coshed in the groin by police, she claimed. "We got tea and sympathy from the British embassy," said Dillon, adding that the Manchester United manager ,Sir Alex Ferguson, had written to say there was nothing he could do to help. "I will never go to Old Trafford again," she said.
Unlikely support came from Roma fans, who waved a banner reading "Freedom for the Roma 4" at last month's match against Manchester Utd. A relative of Dillon added that fellow prisoners had been "great," even lending Dillon clothes when he was prevented from receiving his own from his family.
· Supporters claim the four men were set up by police
* Tom Kington in Rome
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 3 2008
Four Manchester United fans locked up in Italian jails since December walked free yesterday, after winning an appeal to get charges for fighting with Rome police reduced and their sentences cut.
Friends and relatives of the men celebrated outside a Rome court after the decision, claiming the four had been set up by police to make an example of them, and that they had been beaten by officers and denied access to proper legal assistance.
"I am absolutely elated," said Janet Dillon, whose son Kyle, 24, was originally sentenced to two years and five months for clashing with police and local fans outside Rome's Olympic stadium on December 12, ahead of Manchester United's Champions League match with Roma.
Fellow fan Richard Wimmer, 39, received the same sentence, while Nicholas Lukacs, 18 and Michael Burke, 35, received two years and four months.
Yesterday the sentences were reduced to 16 months, allowing the release of the four on suspended sentences. Defence lawyer Roberta Ceschini said she had not seen the judge's ruling, but that it was likely two charges of violence had been dropped.
At the hearing, the men pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, but relatives claimed they were innocent. "We were advised to accept this verdict in order to get the boys home immediately," said Lukacs's sister Katerina. Seeking to overturn all charges would have led to a longer trial, said Ceschini.
Janet Dillon, whose son is registered as partially sighted, said she would now seek to overturn the remaining charge.
Lukacs's mother, Anne, said her son, now saddled with a criminal record, would be unable to return to his job at a law firm.
"There is no such word as justice here," said Carmon Ducker, Burke's girlfriend.
On December 12, the four fans ignored advice from Manchester United to board a laid-on bus that would have taken them into the Olympic stadium, preferring to catch a city bus which left them on the Duca D'Aosta bridge nearby. "The fan buses were arriving four to five hours before the game and they were concerned about what had happened inside the stadium at the previous match," said Janet Dillon.
Manchester fans were baton charged in the stands in April 2007 by police.
At their trial, the four were accused of throwing objects and clashing with Roma fans and police on the bridge, but Ceschini said that charge had now weakened.
"The men would have been difficult to identify at the scene and the evidence against them appeared inconsistent," she said.
Relatives said that the four had also been persuaded to face a rapid trial with limited evidence in December. "Thanks to poor translators they were under the impression they would sign and go home," said Anne Lukacs.
"They were made into scapegoats," said Janet Dillon.
The sentence appears to have worked as a warning. One fan who returned to Rome in April for Manchester's subsequent Champions League game said few supporters were prepared "to walk the bridge" to get to the stadium.
When Janet Dillon saw her son in prison on Christmas Eve, he was still bruised from being headbutted and coshed in the groin by police, she claimed. "We got tea and sympathy from the British embassy," said Dillon, adding that the Manchester United manager ,Sir Alex Ferguson, had written to say there was nothing he could do to help. "I will never go to Old Trafford again," she said.
Unlikely support came from Roma fans, who waved a banner reading "Freedom for the Roma 4" at last month's match against Manchester Utd. A relative of Dillon added that fellow prisoners had been "great," even lending Dillon clothes when he was prevented from receiving his own from his family.
Judge frees 'Roma Four' on appeal
our Manchester United fans sentenced to more than two years in prison in Italy have been released on appeal.
Richard Wimmer, Michael Buerk, Kyle Dillon and Nicholas Lucas were jailed in December for their part in a fight with Roma fans after a match.
At a hearing in Italy they pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, in return for early release.
Kyle Dillon's mother, Janet, said the families were relieved and now just wanted to get them home.
Kyle Dillon, 23, Richard Wimmer, 39, Nicholas Lucas, 18 and Michael Burk, 35, all from Greater Manchester, were jailed in December over the fight prior to a Champions League tie.
They were all charged with violent behaviour and resisting arrest.
Their families had previously said they only admitted the charges because they did not understand their interpreter.
Police said the four were part of a group of Manchester United supporters travelling to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 12 December but became separated and clashed with rival fans.
Richard Wimmer, Michael Buerk, Kyle Dillon and Nicholas Lucas were jailed in December for their part in a fight with Roma fans after a match.
At a hearing in Italy they pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, in return for early release.
Kyle Dillon's mother, Janet, said the families were relieved and now just wanted to get them home.
Kyle Dillon, 23, Richard Wimmer, 39, Nicholas Lucas, 18 and Michael Burk, 35, all from Greater Manchester, were jailed in December over the fight prior to a Champions League tie.
They were all charged with violent behaviour and resisting arrest.
Their families had previously said they only admitted the charges because they did not understand their interpreter.
Police said the four were part of a group of Manchester United supporters travelling to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 12 December but became separated and clashed with rival fans.
Friday 2 May 2008
Roma Red is released
Adam Derbyshire
2/ 5/2008
FOOTBALL fan Kyle Dillon has been freed from prison in Italy after an appeal judge agreed to his release.
The partially-sighted Manchester United fan has been behind bars in Italy since December after becoming embroiled in skirmishes outside the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Three other supporters also convicted of football violence alongside him have also been released.
At a hearing in Italy today (Friday), the men were told to plead guilty in return for an early release. After discussing the matter with their solicitor, it was decided it was the only option to secure their freedom.
Families of the ‘Roma 4’ have always insisted they were duped into signing a confession by a solicitor who attempted to plea-bargain a sentence.
The plan failed and the fans — Kyle, 24, Michael Burk, 35, Richard Wimmer, 39, and Nicholas Lukacs, 19 — were each jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Kyle, of Mottram, has always maintained his innocence claiming he was baton charged by police as he attempted to avoid the trouble.
Mum Janet and stepdad John, of Home Farm Avenue, Broadbottom along with girlfriend Stacey Swann were in Rome to watch proceedings unfold.
The family are said to be ‘elated’ and Kyle will fly home tomorrow.
But, as it stands, the caveat is that Kyle will still have a criminal record. But the family are expected to take legal action at a later date in a bid to quash the conviction.
2/ 5/2008
FOOTBALL fan Kyle Dillon has been freed from prison in Italy after an appeal judge agreed to his release.
The partially-sighted Manchester United fan has been behind bars in Italy since December after becoming embroiled in skirmishes outside the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Three other supporters also convicted of football violence alongside him have also been released.
At a hearing in Italy today (Friday), the men were told to plead guilty in return for an early release. After discussing the matter with their solicitor, it was decided it was the only option to secure their freedom.
Families of the ‘Roma 4’ have always insisted they were duped into signing a confession by a solicitor who attempted to plea-bargain a sentence.
The plan failed and the fans — Kyle, 24, Michael Burk, 35, Richard Wimmer, 39, and Nicholas Lukacs, 19 — were each jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Kyle, of Mottram, has always maintained his innocence claiming he was baton charged by police as he attempted to avoid the trouble.
Mum Janet and stepdad John, of Home Farm Avenue, Broadbottom along with girlfriend Stacey Swann were in Rome to watch proceedings unfold.
The family are said to be ‘elated’ and Kyle will fly home tomorrow.
But, as it stands, the caveat is that Kyle will still have a criminal record. But the family are expected to take legal action at a later date in a bid to quash the conviction.
Roma Reds released
Deborah Haile
2/ 5/2008
FOUR Manchester United fans - jailed after they were arrested on the day of a Reds' match against Roma - have been freed.
Kyle Dillon, Michael Burk, Nicholas Lucas and Richard Wimmer were jailed in Italy in December.
The four men were alleged to have been caught up in violence involving Roma's infamous Ultras on the Duca d'Aosta bridge, near the Stadio Olympico.
And they were sentenced to serve up to two-years and six months, after an abbreviated trial procedure, which was conducted in Italian.
But families and friends of the supporters have continued to protest their innocence.
And earlier today the four men were freed after changing their plea to guilty in a court in Italy.
Worsley MP Barbara Keeley, who has been fighting for the release of constituent Michael Burk, has welcomed the court's decision.
She said: "I have campaigned on this issue since I found out all the problems with the representation and trial process of Michael Burk. I felt it was a wrongful conviction.
"I recently held a debate about the case at Westminster with the Europe Minister, Jim Murphy. The debate helped to publicise the fact that there had been many flaws up to and including the trial of the four Manchester United fans.
"Following this and all the publicity around the case, I am pleased that my constituent has now received a fair hearing and has won back his freedom.
"His family will be delighted to have him home.
"I would like to thank the Manchester Evening News for the excellent coverage given to this case.
"I am sure that MENs reporting was an important factor in turning this case around and bringing justice to the four Manchester United fans."
Michael Burk, 35, from Little Hulton, Salford, and Nicholas Lucas, 18, had been facing jail sentences of two years and five months.
Partially-sighted Kyle Dillon, 23, from Mottram, and Richard Wimmer, 39 , had been facing sentences of two years and six months.
2/ 5/2008
FOUR Manchester United fans - jailed after they were arrested on the day of a Reds' match against Roma - have been freed.
Kyle Dillon, Michael Burk, Nicholas Lucas and Richard Wimmer were jailed in Italy in December.
The four men were alleged to have been caught up in violence involving Roma's infamous Ultras on the Duca d'Aosta bridge, near the Stadio Olympico.
And they were sentenced to serve up to two-years and six months, after an abbreviated trial procedure, which was conducted in Italian.
But families and friends of the supporters have continued to protest their innocence.
And earlier today the four men were freed after changing their plea to guilty in a court in Italy.
Worsley MP Barbara Keeley, who has been fighting for the release of constituent Michael Burk, has welcomed the court's decision.
She said: "I have campaigned on this issue since I found out all the problems with the representation and trial process of Michael Burk. I felt it was a wrongful conviction.
"I recently held a debate about the case at Westminster with the Europe Minister, Jim Murphy. The debate helped to publicise the fact that there had been many flaws up to and including the trial of the four Manchester United fans.
"Following this and all the publicity around the case, I am pleased that my constituent has now received a fair hearing and has won back his freedom.
"His family will be delighted to have him home.
"I would like to thank the Manchester Evening News for the excellent coverage given to this case.
"I am sure that MENs reporting was an important factor in turning this case around and bringing justice to the four Manchester United fans."
Michael Burk, 35, from Little Hulton, Salford, and Nicholas Lucas, 18, had been facing jail sentences of two years and five months.
Partially-sighted Kyle Dillon, 23, from Mottram, and Richard Wimmer, 39 , had been facing sentences of two years and six months.
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