In Italy, the absentia trial of a U.S. soldier for the killing of the Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari has resumed in Rome. Calipari was killed in Iraq two years ago shortly after he helped free the kidnapped journalist Giuliana Sgrena. The United States has insisted National Guardsman Mario Lozano followed the rules of engagement and shot at the car carrying the Italians because it was speeding toward a checkpoint. Italian ballistics experts concluded that the car was driving at a normal speed and that the U.S. unit gave no warnings before opening fire. A video of the scene of the shooting was released last week.

Giuliana Sgrena: “What clearly comes out of the video, and what was denied by the American military commission, is that the car had the lights on. The car had the lights on, and most of all, it had them on even after the shooting, meaning that the shooter pointed at the people inside more than at the exterior of the car.”

The trial has now been delayed until early July. Also Monday, Mario Lozano spoke from his home in New York.

Mario Lozano: “It is scary because now I can’t leave my country. I feel like a prisoner in my own country, a prisoner of war practically. I joined the military for a reason — to travel — and now I can’t go anywhere.”