After months of anticipation, verdicts have been given to those on trial in the so-called Vatileaks II trial.
According to Vatican Radio, Spanish priest Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, who has a three-week old son, was given a suspended ten months sentence.
The Spanish priest and Italian lay woman, who were at the heart of the trial, were given these jail sentences for leaking confidential documents.
Meanwhile, two Italian journalists,Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, who were also on trial were cleared by the Vatican. They had written best-selling books based on the leaked documents last year, were cleared by the court on the grounds that the Vatican judiciary has no jurisdiction over them.
At the end of the eight-month trial, a fifth defendant, Nicola Maio, an assistant to the Spanish priest, was found innocent.
