The defendants say the real criminals were police

A total of 26 protesters are charged with vandalism, robbery and illegal possession of explosives.

The defendants, who face up to 15 years in jail if convicted, deny the charges.

The trial began in a tense atmosphere, with demonstrators outside the court saying they were brutally beaten by police at the summit in July 2001.

More than 700 police, many in riot gear, were deployed to guard the courthouse and monitor the demonstration.

Those who devastated Genoa should not pass themselves off as victims Claudio Scajola Italian cabinet minister

"We are here because we haven't forgotten," said one protester on Tuesday.

"This trial is a symbol of the fact that the wrong people are criminalised. The real criminals are the Group of Eight," he said.

During the summit a 23-year-old demonstrator was shot dead by a policeman.

The officer was investigated by prosecutors, but the case was thrown out by a judge who ruled that he was acting in self-defence.

Mayhem

Cabinet minister Claudio Scajola - who was in charge of security at the time - told AGI news agency on Monday that "those who devastated Genoa should not pass themselves off as victims".

Some demonstrators at the 2001 Genoa summit turned to violence

About 100,000 anti-globalisation protesters descended on Genoa in July 2001.

Small groups threw stones, bottles and incendiary devices at police.

Shops were looted and hundreds of cars wrecked.

An internal inquiry into police actions during the summit resulted in disciplinary action against the head of Italy's anti-terrorism unit, the country's second highest-ranking police officer and the Genoa police chief.