ROME, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Constitutional Court will hear a controversial case of assisted suicide of a famous Italian DJ, which involved a pro-euthanasia campaigner, local media said on Wednesday.
Radical party member and pro-euthanasia activist Marco Cappato was under trial in Milan on charge of assisting suicide, after helping Fabiano Antoniani -- known as DJ Fabo -- to go to a clinic in Switzerland to voluntary undergo a procedure of assisted dying in February 2017.
The procedure is illegal in Italy, and the charge can carry a penalty of five to 12 years in jail. On Wednesday, the court announced it would not sentence the pro-euthanasia campaigner, because he did not reinforce DJ Fabo's purpose to die, Ansa news agency reported.
Furthermore, the judges sent the case to the constitutional court, asking it to evaluate if the assisted suicide offence is really in accordance with the Italian constitution.
"A person must be recognized the freedom to decide how to die and when," Ansa cited Milan's judges as saying in their statement.
Before the trial, prosecutors had already asked to quit Cappato, but the judge for preliminary investigations had refused their request and sent the defendant to trial.
Last in a series of high-profile cases, the story of DJ Fabo stirred a wide debate in the country on euthanasia, and on the need of an appropriate legislation over end-of-life issues.
The 40-year-old disk jockey was blind and severely disabled due to a road accident occurred in 2014.
Before choosing assisted dying in the Swiss clinic, DJ Fabo had called on the Italian President Sergio Mattarella for his right to die, but his appeal went unheard.
Sending a farewell audio message before his death, he wanted to stress that he did reach his final path, but "not with the help of my country."
The issue is controversial among Italians. Many see euthanasia as an individual right, while other sections of society agree with the Catholic Church, which is strongly against it.
Nonetheless, the DJ Fabo's case marked a step forward in the political debate, and a law on end-of-life rights and biological will was passed by the Italian parliament in December.
It allows adults to choose what end-of-life medical care they want to receive, in accordance with their doctors, and it foresees the right for individuals to refuse any medical assistance aimed at prolonging life. The law grants doctors the right to conscientious objection to the practice.
In a first case reported by local media after the new legislation, a 43-year-old severely disabled woman ordered to interrupt mechanical ventilation helping to keep her alive early this month.
