do not publish - Italy scientists sentenced to jail in quake trial

L'AQUILA (AFP) - Six Italian scientists and a government official were found guilty on Monday of multiple manslaughter for underestimating the risks of a killer earthquake in the town of L'Aquila in 2009.

They were sentenced to six years in jail in the watershed ruling in a case that has provoked outrage in the international science community.

Some commentators had warned that any convictions would dissuade other experts from sharing their expertise for fear of legal retribution.

Prosecutor Fabio Picuti had asked for jail sentences of four years for each defendant for failing to alert the population of the walled medieval town of L'Aquila to the risks, days before the 6.3-magnitude quake killed 309 people.