An Italian Court Has Ruled That Food Theft Brought About by Hunger is Not Illegal

8/15/2019 An Italian Court Has Ruled That Food Theft Brought About by Hunger is Not Illegal

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An Italian court has ruled that food theft brought about by hunger is not illegal. Italy's highest court of appeal, the Supreme Court ofCassation, threw out the conviction of a homeless Ukrainian man, oman !striakov, who was sentenced to si" months in #ail forstealing cheese and a sausage worth $%.& . (r !striakov was also fined $))& by the trial court. *is lawyers initially appealed for a

reduction in that fine and were surprised when the whole conviction was +uashed. he court said (r !striakov taking the food, -doesnot constitute a crime- because he stole a small amount of food out of desperation. he court of appeal ruled that stealing smallamounts of food to stave off hunger is not a crime.

(any people hope (r !striakov s case will highlight the e"tent of poverty and homelessness in Italy. hey also believe the ruling maymean other hungry people who are arrested for shoplifting will not be convicted. Criminal lawyer (auri/io 0ellacosa said the!striakov case, -is a new principle, and it might lead to a more fre+uent application of the state of necessity linked to povertysituations-. he court ruled in a statement that1 -2eople should not be punished if, forced by need, they steal small +uantities of foodin order to meet the basic re+uirement of feeding themselves.- Italy's 3a Stampa newspaper said1 - he court's decision reminds usall that in a civilised country, no one should be allowed to die of hunger.-


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1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T or false (F .

a. he court in the article is Italy's highest court of appeal. T / F

b. he man who stole the food was from (ilan. T / F

c. he man was given a $), fine. T / F

d. he court said it wasn't a crime because it was a small amount. T / F

e. 2eople hope the case will put a focus on homelessness in Italy. T / F

f. A #udge said no one would be arrested for stealing food. T / F

g. A lawyer suggested more people might be let off for stealing food. T / F

h. An Italian newspaper disagreed with the court's decision. T / F

!. S"#$#"% %AT&': %at h the followin) s*non*+s fro+ the arti le.

). ruled

4. threw out

5. #ail

%. constitute

&. desperation

6. e"tent

7. case


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4: sentenced to si" months in #ail for stealing cheese and a ;;;;;; a. sausage worthy $%.& b. sausage worth $%.& c. sausage worse $%.&

d. sausages worth $%.&

5: (r !striakov was also fined $))& by ;;;;;; a. the trials court b. the trial court c. the trialed court d. the trail court

%: appealed for a reduction in that fine and were surprised when the whole ;;;;;; a. conviction was +uashed

b. conviction was s+uashed c. conviction was coshed d. conviction was +uacked

&: because he stole a small amount of food ;;;;;; a. out for desperation b. in for desperation c. outer desperation d. out of desperation

6: (any people hope (r !striakov s case will highlight the ;;;;;; a. intent of poverty b. content of poverty c. ne"t tent of poverty d. e"tent of poverty

7: other hungry people who are arrested for shoplifting will ;;;;;; a. not be conviction b. not be convicted


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c. not been convicted d. not be convicts

8: 2eople should not be punished if, forced by need, they steal small ;;;;;;

a. +uantity of food b. +uantities of food c. +uantities off food d. +uantities of feed

9: in order to meet the basic re+uirement of ;;;;;; a. feed in themselves b. feeding themselves c. feeding in themselves d. feeds in themselves

) : he court's decision reminds us all that in a civilised country, no one should be allowed ;;;;;; a. to die of hunger b. to die for hunger c. to die from hunger d. to die off hunger

%ulti,le hoi e ui): *ow high was the court that made the decision<a: +uite high

b: about 47 metresc: the second highestd: the highest court of appeal

4: =here was the man who stole the food from<a: Italyb: Ukrainec: 2erud: >ngland


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5: *ow much was the food he stole worth<a: $&%b: $%&c: $&.%

d: $%.&

%: *ow much was the man initially fined by the court<a: $)),&b: $)))&c: $))&d: $)).&

&: =hat did the court say the man stole the food out of<a: a restaurant

b: a bagc: a ta"id: desperation

6: =hat do people hope the case will highlight in Italy<a: crimeb: healthc: povertyd: food

7: ?or which crime might people not be convicted<a: shopliftingb: pickpocketingc: fraudd: assault

8: =hat is (auri/io 0ellacosa's #ob<a: chef b: charity worker


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c: lawyer d: police officer

9: =hat was the basic re+uirement for people mentioned in the article<

a: following the lawb: feeding themselvesc: giving to charityd: compassion

) : =hat is the name of the newspaper that spoke about the case<a: 3a Stampab: 3a @a//ettac: 3a Italiad: 3a ournal

STU E#T A0s UEST2$#S ( o not show these to student 3

). =hat did you think when you read the headline<

4. =hat springs to mind when you hear the word 'theft'<

5. =hat do you think about what you read<

%. Bo you think (r !striakov is a thief<

&. Is the government responsible for feeding people who are starving<

6. =ould you steal food if you had none<


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7. =hat would you rule if you were the #udge<

8. =ill this case lead to more shoplifting<

9. =as this case worth the money spent on paying lawyers and #udges<

) . Is stealing food a crime<

STU E#T 30s UEST2$#S ( o not show these to student A

). Bid you like reading this article< =hy not<

4. =hy is there homelessness and poverty in rich countries<

5. =ould food stores go bankrupt if stealing for food was not a crime<

%. If stealing for food is not a crime, how about stealing clothes<

&. =hat can countries do to make sure no one is hungry<

6. =hat's the hungriest you've ever been<

7. =hat would you do if you had no food or money<

8. Should uneaten food in supermarkets and restaurants go to the poor<

9. *ow civilised a country is your country<

) . =hat +uestions would you like to ask the #udge


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An Italian Court Has Ruled That Food Theft Brought About by Hunger is Not Illegal