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.
– 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.