NEW YORK. A high-profile defendant in the Vatican’s extensive financial trial has filed a complaint with the United Nations, accusing Pope Francis of violating his human rights through unauthorized surveillance during the investigation.
Raffaele Mincione, a London-based financier, submitted his complaint last week to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This was done through a special procedure allowing individuals or groups to report alleged rights violations within countries or institutions.
The Vatican responded on Thursday, dismissing Mincione’s claim and asserting that the investigation adhered to all relevant laws and international agreements. The Vatican stated that no surveillance had been ordered for Mincione.
This filing brings further attention to the Vatican trial and underscores the unique nature of the Vatican’s criminal justice system, which often clashes with European and democratic norms. As an absolute monarchy, the Vatican grants the pope supreme legislative, executive, and judicial authority.
The trial, which commenced in 2021 and concluded in December, centered on the Holy See’s financially disastrous 350 million euro investment in a London property. Vatican prosecutors accused brokers and Vatican officials of defrauding the Holy See of millions of euros in fees and commissions, and subsequently extorting 15 million euros ($16.5 million) from the Holy See to relinquish control of the property.
The trial ended with convictions for nine of the ten defendants, including Mincione and the once-powerful Cardinal Angelo Becciu. Although the court’s detailed reasoning for the sentences remains unpublished, both Vatican prosecutors and the convicted defendants have filed appeals.
Mincione’s complaint to the U.N. zeroes in on the pope’s role during the investigation, an issue raised by defense lawyers during the trial and noted by external experts. The complaint highlights four secret executive decrees signed by Francis in 2019 and 2020, which granted Vatican prosecutors extensive investigative powers, including unchecked wiretapping and deviations from existing laws. These decrees surfaced just before the trial, were never officially published, lacked justification or timeframes for the surveillance, and offered no oversight by an independent judge.
The chief prosecutor argued that Francis’ decrees included unspecified “guarantees” for the suspects, and the judges at the time rejected defense motions claiming violations of fair trial rights. The judges ruled no breach of legality had occurred since Francis himself had enacted the laws.
In a statement addressing media inquiries about the U.N. filing, the Vatican prosecutors’ office asserted that Mincione and others were convicted of serious crimes in a trial that “fully observed due process” and where Mincione “abundantly exercised his right to be heard.” The office insisted that the investigation complied with all laws and international agreements, denying that intercepts of Mincione’s phone or electronic communications had been ordered.
Mincione’s complaint also contends that the tribunal lacked independence and impartiality, a claim the Vatican has previously rejected. The pope’s authority to hire and fire judges and prosecutors, and his recent decisions on their compensation, pensions, and term limits, were cited in the complaint.
It remains unclear how the U.N. will respond to the complaint. The Geneva-based office employs special rapporteurs to monitor specific human rights areas, including judicial independence.
Previous complaints to the U.N. regarding the Vatican or the Catholic Church, particularly on issues like child sexual abuse and LGBTQ+ discrimination, have resulted in U.N. special rapporteurs issuing letters to the Vatican’s U.N. ambassador in Geneva, highlighting problems and requesting responses and changes.
Mincione has also sought the involvement of the Council of Europe (COE) in the matter, as the Holy See is periodically reviewed as part of the COE’s Moneyval process to prevent money laundering. In January, a British representative queried whether the COE would investigate the Vatican’s human rights situation in light of the trial’s outcome, a question that the plenary assembly chairman sidestepped.
Additionally, Mincione is engaged in ongoing litigation, having sued the Vatican secretariat of state in a British court over the reputational damage he claims to have suffered due to the Vatican trial.
