Six Italian scientists and a government official were sentenced to six years in jail on Monday for multiple manslaughter in a watershed ruling that found them guilty of underestimating the risks of a killer earthquake in 2009.

They were also ordered to pay?more than nine million euros (almost $12 million) in damages to survivors in the devastated medieval town of L'Aquila in a case that has sparked outrage in the international science community.

Seismologists in Italy and beyond were horrified by the unprecedented sentence and argued that all science was being put on trial.

Under the Italian justice system, the seven remain free until they have exhausted two chances to appeal the verdict.

Prosecutor Fabio Picuti had asked for jail sentences of four years for each defendant for failing to alert the population of the walled medieval town to the risks, days before the 6.3-magnitude quake that killed 309 people.

"I am crestfallen, desperate. I thought I would be acquitted. I still don't understand what I'm accused of," said Enzo Boschi, who was the head of Italy's national geophysics institute (INGV) at the time.

All seven defendants were members of the Major Risks Committee which met in L'Aquila on March 31, 2009 -- six days before the quake devastated the region, tearing down houses and churches and leaving thousands of people homeless.

Picuti had slammed the experts for providing "an incomplete, inept, unsuitable and criminally mistaken" analysis, which reassured locals and led many to stay indoors when the first tremors hit.

"This is a historic sentence, above all for the victims," said lawyer Wania della Vigna, who represents 11 plaintiffs, including the family of an Israeli student who died when a student residence collapsed on top of him.

"It also marks a step forward for the justice system and I hope it will lead to change, not only in Italy but across the world," she said.

The bright blue classroom-sized temporary tribunal in L'Aquila -- built on an industrial estate after the town's historic court was flattened in the quake -- was packed with lawyers, advisors and international media for the verdict.

Four of the defendants were in court, as well as a small group of survivors.

Aldo Scimia, whose mother was killed, welled up as the verdict was read out.

"We cannot call this a victory. It's a tragedy, whatever way you look at it, it won't bring our loved ones back," he said.

"I continue to call this a massacre at the hand of the state, but at least now we hope that our children may live safer lives."

Some commentators had warned that any convictions would dissuade other experts from sharing their expertise for fear of legal retribution.

"We are deeply concerned. It's not just seismology which has been put on trial but all science," Charlotte Krawczyk, president of the seismology division at the European Geosciences Union (EGU), told AFP.

"All scientists are really shocked by this," said Krawczyk. "We are trying to organise ourselves and come up with a strong statement that could help so that the scientists do not have to go to jail."

The current INGV head Stefano Gresta also said the trial had set a legal precedent which would have serious repercussions across the science world.

"What scientist will want to express his opinion knowing that he could finish in prison?" he asked.

Filippo Dinacci, lawyer for the-then deputy director of the Civil Protection agency Bernardo De Bernardinis and its seismic risk office chief Mauro Dolce, said it was "difficult to understand" the verdict -- after criticizing the charges last week as something out of "medieval criminal law".

The government committee met after a series of small tremors in the preceding weeks had sown panic among local inhabitants -- particularly after a resident began making worrying unofficial earthquake predictions.

Italy's top seismologists were called to evaluate the situation and De Bernardinis gave press interviews saying the seismic activity in L'Aquila posed "no danger".

"The ruling in my opinion is not fair. We will certainly be appealing,"

said Alessandra Stefano, lawyer for the head of the European center of earthquake engineering Gian Michele Calvi.

Over 5,000 members of the scientific community sent an open letter to President Giorgio Napolitano denouncing the trial against colleagues for failing to predict a quake -- a feat widely acknowledged to be impossible.

"Seismologists are more or less reconciled to the fact that the chances of predicting when a large earthquake is going to strike are somewhat more remote than finding the Holy Grail," said Roger Musson at the British Geological Survey, calling the verdict "unbelievable".

The other defendants are Giulio Selvaggi, head of the INGV's national earthquake center in Rome; Franco Barberi from Rome's University Three and Claudio Eva from the University of Genoa.

About 120,000 people were affected by the quake, which destroyed the city's historic center and medieval churches as well as surrounding villages.

L'Aquila resident Ortense, whose sister was killed in the quake, said: "We didn't come here to get revenge, these men are all family men. But it does bring some comfort to know that someone will pay the price for misleading us." (AFP)

<관련 한글 기사>

'지진 예고 못해' 징역형 받아

지난 2009년 4월 이탈리아 중부 도시 라퀼라에서 발생한 지진의 위험성을 제대로 판단하지 못했다는 이유로 과학자 등 7명에게 징역형이 선고됐다.

라퀼라 법원은 22일(현지시간) 살인 혐의로 기소된 국립 대재난위원회(GRC) 소속 과학자 6명과 공무원 1명에 대해 모두 유죄를 인정했다.

이들 피고들에게는 각각 징역 6년형이 선고됐으며 이와 함께 재판 비용 등을 지급하라는 명령도 내려졌다.

이탈리아에서는 한차례 이상 항소 과정을 거치지 않으면 유죄가 확정되지 않기 때문에 이들에 대한 징역형이 당장 집행될 가능성은 거의 없다고 현지 언론들은 전했다.

국제적으로 유명한 기상ㆍ지리학자들이 포함된 피고인들에 대해 유죄 판결이 내려지자 당사자들은 물론 전 세계 과학계는 "과학은 지진을 예고할 수 있는 확실한 방법이 없다"면서 강하게 반발했다.

피고인 엔조 보시 전 이탈리아 국립 지구과학ㆍ화산학 연구소장은 "나는 무죄 판결을 받을 것으로 생각했다"면서 "지금도 무엇 때문에 기소가 됐는지 이해할 수 없다"고 말했다.

보시 전 소장을 비롯한 7명의 피고인들은 "강진이 발생하기 몇주일, 몇달 전에 라퀼라 주민들이 감지한 진동에 대해 부정확하고, 불완전하고, 모순되는 정보를 제공했다"는 혐의로 기소됐으며 지난해 9월 이에 대한 재판이 시작됐다.

당시 강도 6.3의 지진으로 라퀼라에서는 무려 308명이 목숨을 잃었으며 도시는 사실상 폐허로 변했다.