Stealing food not a crime for the destitute, Italian court rules

Italy's highest court has quashed the conviction of a man caught taking cheese and sausages from a supermarket – on the ground that stealing small amounts of food to stave off hunger is not a crime.

The Court of Cassation ruled that "immediate and essential need for nourishment" amounted to necessity, in the case of Roman Ostriakov, a homeless Ukranian man who attempted to leave a supermarket with two pieces of cheese and a packet of sausages worth €4.07 in his pocket, paying only for breadsticks. It overturned his conviction and sentence of six months in jail and a €100 fine.

It was clear, the judges stated, that the defendant “could not live without feeding himself, so acted out of necessity”. Therefore, it was not a crime.

They had regard to the condition of the defendant and the circumstances in which the seizure of the merchandise took place, as proving "that he took possession of that small amount of food in the face of an immediate and essential need for nourishment, acting therefore in a state of necessity", according to reports.

The judgement “reminds everyone that in a civilised country not even the worst of men should starve”.