Tito Minniti

Castration of defeated enemies was a tradition in Ethiopia as was the taking of body parts as trophies. Italy had already raised the practice at the League of Nations, as part of its justification for the invasion. Isamael Daoud, El Uisci's superior, denied the truth of his account of events. The Italians argued that Daoud was in no position to dispute the accuracy of the story, as he was in Egypt at the time. Kamel Hamed and Labib Salamah, two other members of El Uisci's paramedic team in Ethiopia, supported El Uisci's assertions. In 1937, journalist and historian Indro Montanelli interviewed one of the Ethiopians who killed Minniti, who confirmed El Uisci's account.

The legitimacy of the Italian response was much debated. In 1937, the antifascist writer Giuseppe Antonio Borgese gave his own version of events, arguing that Graziani merely seized on the incident to excuse his actions:

Flags in Minniti's hometown were flown at half-mast. His father was quoted saying, "I have given a son to the fatherland in the World War and I do not regret giving the fatherland another. For the greatness of Italy I am ready to offer the lives of my other four!" The Reggio Calabria Airport, near his birthplace, was named after Minniti and still bears his name. The Italian sculptor Arturo Martini created a memorial entitled "Tito Minniti Hero of Africa" in 1936, depicting his headless naked body tied to a tree in cruciform pose. It is preserved in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.

Tito Minniti (1909 – 26 December 1935) was an Italian pilot who was killed after he was captured by Ethiopians during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1935 near Degehabur. His death and alleged torture became an atrocity story proffered by the Italian government to justify their use of mustard gas against Ethiopian civilians. Minniti was posthumously decorated with the Italian Gold Medal of Valor.

On 26 December 1935 Minniti was flying a reconnaissance mission with an observer, Sergeant Livio Zannoni. He was forced to land behind enemy lines, probably due to engine trouble. Minnitti and Zannoni survived apparently uninjured, but were soon challenged by Ethiopians. What happened next is disputed. Both men were killed, but according to Rainer Baudendistel, "it was never established whether they died defending themselves or were killed after surrender". The only officially recorded testimony of the event, given by an Egyptian paramedic, asserted with details that Minniti was tortured and murdered by Ethiopian troops.

Tito Minniti was born in Placanica, near Reggio Calabria, Italy in 1909. He became a military pilot of the Regia Aeronautica in 1933. He had attained the rank of Lieutenant when he volunteered to fight in Ethiopia in 1935. He flew a number of missions over enemy territory.