Covell

It was with understandable trepidation that Mark Covell travelled from his council flat to Rome last week for a preview of the film that dramatises the night he was savagely beaten and left in a coma by Italian police.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

Judges said it was difficult to believe that one officer, Francesco Gratteri, who was in the street outside the school, did not witness Covell's beating.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

That those discussions are happening has much to do with the ousting last November of Silvio Berlusconi, who took office weeks before the G8 summit in July 2001, said Lavinia Botto, a lawyer handling Covell's claim.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

It is weird being double-kissed and thanked by Italians who see me as an activist hero, said Covell, who has supplied video footage for a documentary about the G8 which will also be screened at Berlin.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

It was surreal and emotional to see myself in a coma, splattered with blood, said Covell, 44, who has ceaselessly campaigned for his aggressors to be jailed.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

The film, Diaz – Don't Clean Up This Blood, which premieres on Sunday at the Berlin film festival – is the first portrayal of the horrific assault by police on activists attending the Genoa G8 summit in 2001 and comes as the Italian government has finally agreed damages for Covell, who was left with eight broken ribs, a mouthful of smashed teeth and a damaged lung.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

"No one has ever been arrested or gone to jail," said Massimo Pastore, a lawyer who has represented Covell and other activists.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

Covell was standing in the street outside the school as hundreds of masked officers in riot helmets massed for the raid.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

A London bike courier turned activist and journalist, Covell was among the 87 protesters wounded when police baton-charged the Diaz school in Genoa, beating people as they cowered in their sleeping bags and planting petrol bombs to justify the raid.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012

Prematurely grey-haired with hollow cheeks, Covell lives on £400 a month in benefits and still feels pain from his injuries.

Briton recalls the night Italian police beat up G8 protesters 2012