Italy has ruled that hungry poor people shouldn’t be punished for stealing food (Picture: Getty)

Stealing food should not be considered a crime if you’re homeless and hungry, Italy’s highest court has ruled.

The decision came after a homeless man was prosecuted for attempting to shoplift food – because it was the only reliable way he could eat.

Homeless people share advice about getting off the streetsRoman Ostriakov was living rough in the northern Italian city of Genoa in 2011.

He was caught trying to steal some cheese and sausage worth 4.07 euros (£3.20) from a supermarket.


Ostriakov, originally from Ukraine, was found guilty of theft and sentenced to six months in jail and a handed a 100 Euro (£80) fine.



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Ostriakov will not be prosecuted for stealing food (Picture: Alamy)

Following the ruling, the state prosecutor appealed the sentence on a technicality, arguing that he should not have been found guilty of theft, but rather attempted theft, because Ostriakov had been caught before he had left the supermarket premises.

But Italy’s Supreme Court annulled the verdict.

‘The condition of the accused and the circumstances in which he obtained the merchandise show that he had taken the little amount of food he needed to overcome his immediate and essential requirement for nourishment,’ it said in a written ruling.

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