The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned about yet another series of violent attacks and threats to journalists and media workers covering protests against the government’s pandemic-related measures across Italy.  Several incidents of hostility and violence towards media were reported in Rome on 9 October, when journalists and photojournalists were attacked while reporting on a protest by anti-vaccine and far-right groups against government measures to require all workers to carry the EU Digital COVID Certificate. Photojournalist Francesco Cocco, a contributor to daily newspaper Il Foglio, said he was deliberately kicked in the groin and…

A year after the Constitutional Court ruled on the unconstitutionality of prison sentences in cases of defamation through the press, on 22 June 2021 the Court issued a follow-up decision declaring art. 13 of Law 47/1948 (Press Law) not compliant with the Constitution. The Court has however declared art. 595(3) of the Penal Code, which provides for a sentence between six months and three years of prison or the payment of a fine, compliant with the Constitution, as it allows the judge to order the imprisonment only in cases of “exceptional severity”. In June 2020, the Constitutional Court invited the Italian…

In March 2021, three NGOs, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Jugend Rettet, have been probed by the prosecutors department in the Sicilian city of Trapani for aiding illegal immigration. In the course of this investigation, the police and prosecutors engaged in a massive violation of the confidentiality of sources of dozens of journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its Italian affiliate, the FNSI, in demanding an explanation from the Italian authorities. According to reports in the Italian press on 2 April, investigators seeking to establish links between migrant rescue operations at sea and traffickers apparently…

Italy’s largest mafia trial in three decades has begun, following a four-year long investigation into the Calabrian organised crime syndicate ‘Ndrangheta and its alleged affiliates networks, in Italy and abroad. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Italian Federation of Journalists’ unions (FNSI) and the Union of RAI journalists (USIGRai) condemned the decision of judges to ban cameras from their courtroom. Not allowing video recordings of Court proceedings means denying a pillar of the story. It also means preventing the construction of the memory of a historical fact for Italy and Europe. This is what is happening in the “Rinascita…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins MFRR partners in welcoming the decision by the Italian Constitutional Court to refer a decision on whether to abolish prison sentences for criminal defamation in relation to journalists and media workers to the Italian Parliament. On 9 June 2020, the Court held a long-awaited public hearing into the constitutional legitimacy of Article 595 of the penal code and Article 13 of the law on the press, ruling that while reform was necessary, it was the responsibility of Parliament to amend the legislation. The Court ruled that while a “complex balancing operation” was required…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in call for reform ahead of court hearing On Tuesday, 9 June 2020, the Italian Constitutional Court will hold a public hearing into the legitimacy of laws that allow for jail sentences for journalists convicted of defamation. It comes after the Italian State Attorney submitted a memorandum to the Court on 31 March 2020 on behalf of the government, signalling its plans to retain tough legal provisions for journalists found guilty of publishing defamatory material in the press. The Ordine dei Giornalisti (National Council of the Order…

Specific measures for freelancers Freelancers with an annual income of up to 50.000€ could get a bonus of 600€. The National Institute for Italian Journalists Social Security (INGPI) implemented a package of measures of 42 000€ which allowed extensions of parental leave, the right to defer contribution, a fund for solidarity loans at zero cost, an additional economic allowance of 500€ for all contraction of activities (in case of a contraction of at least 33% of the income in the quarter March-May 2020, compared of the period October-December 2019) and possibility to suspend further financing installment in progress with the…

Carlo Verdelli, Chief Editor of “La Repubblica”, a left wing and well-respected Italian newspaper, has been put under police protection after receiving death threats from neo-Nazi groups. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) together with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) join their Italian affiliate, Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI), in expressing solidarity towards Carlo Verdelli and strongly condemning this appalling intimidation. The police protection measure was ordered by the Interior Ministry on 12 March, following several threats including a death threat coming from a so-called “Neo-Nazi’” silent cells. The FNSI Main Boarding said: “The police protection of Carlo Verdelli…

On 6 March, Gennaro Del Giudice was threatened by the Camorra mafia while reporting on a shooting in Naples, Italy. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) condemn this act of intimidation and call on the authorities to guarantee his safety. Del Giudice is the Editorial Director of Cronaca Flegrea and works with Il Mattino di Napoli. Cronaca Flegrea has previously been targeted by the mafia group because of its publications and investigations. On Wednesday 6 March, following his arrest, a mafia affiliate threatened Del Giudice. After being handcuffed, he said that the raid on his home…

The presenter of the Italian Sanremo 2020 festival, broadcast by the Italian public television RAI, caused a wave of indignation in Italy after he praised his co-hosts with sexist comments. The presenter of the Sanremo music festival, Amedeo Umberto Rita Sebastiani, also known as Amadeus, introduced his co-hosts saying they were chosen for being “very beautiful” and referring to one of them as a “sexy icon”. He added that Francesca Sofia Novello, who is a model, is a “super beautiful” woman, and praised “her ability to be close to a great man (in reference to Valentino Rossi, her partner) by…

Italian journalist and editor of the Campania Notizie news website, Mario de Michele, survived a gun attack on 14 November. The journalist escaped uninjured despite 10 bullets – six of which hit the car – shot by two unknown individuals while driving in the town of Gricignano d’Aversa. “It is a miracle he is alive”, the Italian journalists’ union Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI) said in a statement. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands in solidarity with the journalist and alerts about the very worrying decline when it comes to journalists’ safety in Italy and Europe. The event…

The Italian Journalists’ Union (FNSI – Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana) yesterday called for greater awareness when reporting about gender violence and in particular, femicides. This important wake-up call was published by the FNSI ‘Commission for equal opportunities’ whereas the headlines and news regarding the murder of a woman has raised controversy in Italy. The case of the murder of Elisa Pomarelli, near Piacenza, reached national news when the body was found after two weeks of intensive search that ended with the confession of a man, who said to be Pomarelli’s friend. The reports in newspapers, TV, radio stations and digital…

On May 23, Stefano Origone, an Italian journalist was beaten up by riot police officers while covering clashes among demonstrators in a rally of the far-right party CasaPound in Genoa. A video published by Origone’s employer, the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica, shows that he was being kicked at and beaten up with batons even though he identified himself as a journalist. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was shocked by the attack of the Italian police on Origone and called for an investigation of the attack. According to Origone, he had huddled on the ground in a foetal position without defending…

On 27 November, Italian MEP Isabella De Monte (S&D) organised the event “The challenges of European Journalism”, taking as an example the recent problems of Italian journalism, such as politicians’ attempts to undermine public media credibility and the difficult economic situation of Italian journalists and media, to discuss about the more widespread attacks to free press throughout Europe. An issue that has to be addressed right now before the European elections with disinformation on the rise said De Monte. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was represented by its director Renate Schroeder, participating together with Raffaele Lorusso, general secretary of the affiliate Federazione Nazionale della Stampa…

On November 10 2018, in occasion of the acquittal of Virginia Raggi, the mayor of Rome who was charged with forgery in relation to the appointment of Renato Marra as head of the Tourism Department, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and the Five Stars Movement MP Alessandro Di Battista attacked again Italian journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Italian affiliate, Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI), in organising a protest action  on November 13 to speak out against these systematic attacks against the press in Italy with the hashtag #GiùLeManiDallInformazione (Hands off the information).…

Italian journalist and writer Roberto Saviano has been sued by the Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini on 20 June under allegations on defamation. The lawsuit was a result of a Twitter thread about the reconsideration of the journalist’s police escort and Salvini’s migration policy, calling for reaction from the Minister to a recent incident where a refugee woman and a child were found drowned in the Mediterranean sea. Saviano named him “a buffon” and “minister of the underworld”. Matteo Salvini, minister of interior, deputy prime minister and the leader of the right-wing League party, has been receiving critics from local and…