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Italian PM Meloni takes another investigative reporter to court

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is taking one of Italy's best-known investigative journalists to court for alleged defamation in the second such trial since she took power last month.

Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi
Investigative journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi will face trial after being sued for defamation by Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Emiliano Fittipaldi, who works for left-wing daily Domani, and his editor Stefano Feltri stand accused of distorting facts in an article last year which suggested Meloni had tried to help a friend win a government contract during the coronavirus pandemic.

Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party was in opposition at the time, rejected the claim and sued.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about press freedom in Italy

A judge in Rome ruled last week that the case should go to court, Fittipaldi said. Meloni’s lawyer confirmed the date had been set for July 10th 2024.

“I only reported true news,” Fittipaldi told AFP Tuesday, adding that he and Domani would continue to report on the government, including on “thorny” issues.

The decision to proceed to trial coincided with the opening day of a court case in which Meloni accused investigative journalist and anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano of ‘defamation’ after he called her a “bastard” while speaking on a TV show.

Saviano, Fittipaldi and Feltri all face up to three years in prison, if convicted.

Watchdogs say such trials are symbolic of a culture in Italy in which public figures intimidate reporters with repeated lawsuits, threatening the erosion of a free press.

Fittipaldi, known for revelations of murky affairs within the Vatican, said being sued “is the norm” for investigative journalists in Italy, and “luckily I have always won”.

READ ALSO: Press freedom fears as Italian PM Meloni takes Saviano to trial

Italian journalist Roberto Saviano

Like Fittipaldi, Roberto Saviano was also sued for defamation by premier Giorgia Meloni. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

“But it is the first time that I will go on trial against a prime minister, who has a gigantic power compared to an opposition journalist,” he said.

Meloni took issue with Fittipaldi’s article in Domani on an inquiry into the purchase of masks by the government’s Covid-19 commissioner.

The paper said commissioner Domenico Arcuri told investigators Meloni had been copied in on an emailed bid for the tender.

It reported Meloni had also called Arcuri ahead of the emailed bid, and said she had “put in a good word” for a friend.

According to Domani, Meloni confirmed she had made a call but denied trying to influence the bid.

Her legal suit against Fittipaldi and Feltri accuses them of “scheming to arrive at a misleading and defamatory headline”, the paper said.

The bid was made by Fabio Pietrella, a Brothers of Italy MP, it added.

Italian newspapers

Nearly 9,500 defamation proceedings were initiated against Italian journalists in 2017. Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP

Meloni’s lawyer, Luca Libra, told AFP the trial “was an expected outcome in the light of an article skilfully constructed to advance defamatory and baseless allegations”.

According to data from the Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT), nearly 9,500 defamation proceedings were initiated against journalists in Italy in 2017.

Defamation through the media can be punished in Italy with prison sentences from six months to three years.

But Italy’s Constitutional Court urged lawmakers in 2020 and 2021 to rewrite the legislation, saying jail time for such cases was unconstitutional and should only be resorted to in cases of “exceptional severity”.

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POLITICS

Italian minister indicted for Covid-era fraud

Prosecutors on Friday charged Italy's tourism minister with fraud relating to government redundancy funds claimed by her publishing companies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Italian minister indicted for Covid-era fraud

Opposition lawmakers immediately requested the resignation of Daniela Santanche, a leading member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party.

Santanche, 63, has strongly rejected the allegations, including in a defiant appearance in parliament last year.

“The Milan prosecutor’s office today requested the indictment of the Minister Santanche and other persons as well as the companies Visibilia Editore and Visibilia Concessionaria,” the office said in a brief statement.

They were indicted “for alleged fraud of the INPS (National Institute for Social Security) in relation to alleged irregularities in the use of the Covid 19 redundancy fund, for a total of 13 employees”.

According to media reports, Visibilia is accused of obtaining state funds intended to help companies struggling with the pandemic to temporarily lay off staff — when in fact the 13 employees continued to work.

Santanche sold her stake in Visibilia when she joined the government of Meloni, who took office in October 2022.

The investigation has been going on for months, but with the decision by prosecutors to indict, opposition parties said Santanche should resign.

“We expect the prime minister to have a minimum of respect for the institutions and ask for Daniela Santanche’s resignation,” said Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party.

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