Nationality Italian Religion Neopagan | Name Marco Dimitri | |
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Born 1963 Bologna, Italy Known for President of Italian neo-pagan group "Bambini di Satana"
Democrazia Atea candidate for the Italian Parliament | ||
I bambini di satana il caso di marco dimitri
Marco Dimitri (born in 1963) is the president of the neo-pagan cultural association "Bambini di Satana" (BdS – "Children of Satan").
Contents
- I bambini di satana il caso di marco dimitri
- Intervista a marco dimitri parte 1
- Philosophy
- Court cases
- Countercultural activism
- Political activity and Democrazia Atea
- References
Born in Bologna, Italy, Dimitri became an orphan at the age of 14. Living on the streets he remained in school until graduation. His interest in Satanist culture was seeded while he served in the military. In 1982 he became president of the cultural organization "Bambini di Satana," a group with more than 1,000 members. He became known nationally when he participated in talk shows and various other programs. Dimitri expressed acrid criticism against the official Catholic culture in interviews with several newspapers, including Famiglia Cristiana. He was investigated on several occasions, but was repeatedly acquitted. Dimitri and his views have been discussed on CNN, the BBC, in the Australian ABC News, and in Japanese books. The BBC once labeled him "the most famous Satanist in Europe."
Intervista a marco dimitri parte 1
Philosophy
Dimitri refutes any notion that his group are Satan worshippers, because "the cult of the Devil would be the cult of evil – but for us, good and evil are subjective to each individual." Satan, he asserts, is not about worshiping evil, rather it is a symbol of being an adversary, standing up to a repressive system. It is the church that is "repressive and forces man on his knees with laws that haven’t been created by Christ but by man to enrich man."
Court cases
In 1996 Dimitri was accused of raping a two-year-old boy and a teenage girl in Satanic rituals, a case which sparked intense media attention. After 14 months in prison he was exonerated of all charges.
Dimitri together with fellow Bambini di Satana members, Piergiorgio Bonora and Gennaro Luongo, were arrested on the charges of rape and fined for sexual assault, to which was later added violence against minors, violation of a tomb and desecration of a corpse. He rejected these allegations vigorously for more than a year while he was in police custody. In 1997 the court ruled that these incidents had never happened and acquitted Dimitri. Released from prison he continued his activities supported not only by Satanists but also by counterculturalists like the Luther Blissett Project as well as some writers and journalists.
In 2001 the acquittal was appealed by public prosecutor Lucia Musti, who had led the unsuccessful prosecution in 1996. Dimitri was again acquitted, again due to lack of supporting evidence. In 2005 he was awarded compensation for unjust detention with the sum of 100,000 euros.
Countercultural activism
Dimitri continues to participate in television programs as well as doing interviews. He has created a web site with news and countercultural information. He collaborated with journalist Antonella Beccaria to write a book about his experiences with the 1996 case. The book, published by Stampa Alternativa publishing house under the title Bambini di Satana – processo al diavolo i reati mai commessi di Marco Dimitri (process against the devil of crimes never committed by Marco Dimitri), and with a preface by crime-writer Carlo Lucarelli, is licensed as copyleft and distributed free on the Internet. Marco Dimitri is intent that the abuse must be uncovered and pursued.
Political activity and Democrazia Atea
In August 2012 Dimitri joined the Italian reformist party Democrazia Atea (DA). The party, led by astrophysicist Margherita Hack, shares Dimitri's disestablishmentarian views.
In February 2013 he became the DA's candidate from Roma's district Lazio 2 for The Italian Parliament. A move that generated a lot of controversy and media coverage.