• Hours of anguish for the Italian missionary kidnapped in Niger. Minister: "Father Maccalli is alive"
  • The Italian missionary kidnapped in Niger "is alive". However, Father Maccalli remains in the kidnapping hands

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06 April 2020 Father Pier Luigi Maccalli and Nicola Chiacchio would be alive: writes Avvenire which reports, as testimony, a 24-second movie that would have been shot in northern Mali a few days ago. "My name is Pier Luigi Maccalli, of Italian nationality, today is March 24", can be heard in the short audio, "My name is Nicola Chiacchio". In the still image of the video you can see the two hostages sitting side by side: Maccalli on the left with dark glasses, with the usual white and bushy beard, and in traditional dress. "The jihadist group that indirectly contacted our newspaper did not identify itself, however," writes Avvenire, who broke the news.

The Rome prosecutor acquires the video
The Prosecutor of Rome has delegated the Carabinieri del Ros to acquire the video in which two Italian hostages appear: father Pier Luigi Maccalli, kidnapped on 18 September 2018 in the parish of Bomoanga, on the border of Niger with Burkina, and Nicola Chiacchio. The two are said to be in the hands of jihadist robbers. The prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco has long since started an investigation into which the crime of kidnapping for terrorism purposes is hypothesized.

The Farnesina follows the case but asks for maximum confidentiality
Sources from the Farnesina confirm that the Crisis Unit, in close collaboration with the Prime Minister and the judicial authority, has followed the two cases with the utmost commitment from the outset by keeping regular contacts with their respective family members. As in all similar situations and in light of the delicacy of the story - it is emphasized - it is necessary on the part of the institutional bodies and required of all the press bodies, due to confidentiality in the exclusive interest of the compatriots.