Luciano Capone, a journalist for Il Foglio – a liberal, free-market centric Italian newspaper, regularly critiques the government’s protectionist and statist approaches. He once jokingly suggested that industry minister Adolfo Urso should be nicknamed Urss, the Italian equivalent for the Soviet Union, stirring up considerable legal controversy. He has become yet another critic confronted with legal charges under the governance of prime minister Giorgia Meloni. Now, Capone must navigate a costly and protracted legal journey following Urso’s lawsuit where he seeks €250,000 in libel damages.
Capone labels it farcical and absurd, noting the irony in Urso’s accusations that he aims to undermine the government, yet seeks personal monetary compensation. Urso’s reaction encapsulates the tense dynamics between the press and Meloni’s administration. It’s not just Capone; international pressure is mounting, including scrutiny from Brussels, over Rome’s perceived efforts to suppress media dissent via litigation.
In this year’s global press freedom ranking by Reporters Without Borders, Italy fell to 46th place amongst 180 countries, indicating a decline. Media advocates, journalists, and legal experts argue that Meloni’s right-wing coalition demonstrates over-sensitivity and hastily resorts to legal action in response to unflattering news. The government is also curbing the media’s ability to report on criminal cases.
According to Andrea Di Pietro, a media lawyer based in Rome, the current administration exhibits a more suppressive stance towards freedom of information. He notes a perceptible shift towards less acceptance of criticism at a political level. Věra Jourová, a vice-president of the European Commission, recently accused Meloni’s government of intimidation tactics, citing increased litigation to undermine the journalistic profession and also potential political interference in the state-owned broadcaster RAI.
Reacting to these accusations, Meloni retorted, chastising the commission for lending credibility to unfounded assaults from the so-called “professionals in disinformation and mystification.” He further accused multiple Italian newspapers of attempting to manipulate Brussels.
Meloni responded to inquiries from journalists saying she didn’t believe Italian regulations conveyed the right for journalists to defame another freely, merely because they had a journalist card. Lucio Malan, a Senator aligned with Meloni’s right-wing party Brothers of Italy, reassured the concept of the prime minister seeking legal redress due to criticisms isn’t an unprecedented act. “Various prime ministers have taken this route earlier,” he said, acknowledging that some individuals may disagree with such an approach.
Italy’s postwar constitution, established after Benito Mussolini’s fascist dictatorship era, assures citizens’ prerogative to freely express their thoughts, either verbally or in written form. However, it still retains a criminal defamation law from the previous fascist era. This law imposes fines and facilitates a prison sentence for those causing harm to another’s reputation. In contrast to other countries such as the UK, offensive remarks can also be classified as defamation, not only specific allegations against someone.
More than 6,000 defamation suits are filed annually, according to estimations by Rome-based observatory, Oxygen for Information, with less than a tenth resulting in verdicts against the defendant. But when political figures file defamation suits, it carries no financial burden for them, yet poses substantial financial strain on those they targeted.
In the past, Meloni, who originated from a neo-fascist youth organisation, frequently sued her critics for purported insults. A number of those lawsuits, which she continued to pursue even after becoming premier, have recently produced notable judgment verdicts. When she ascended to power in 2022, there were initial concerns from her European counterparts and others. However, Meloni quelled these trepidations by forging solid alliances with both Brussels and Washington, even though the dwindling freedom of the press continued to raise eyebrows.
A few weeks into her term as premier, Meloni instigated her 2020 defamation suit against author Roberto Saviano, who had chastised her and the far-right League leader Matteo Salvini over their strict immigration policies. Saviano ended up being convicted later in October, with the court ordering him to pay Meloni a sum of €1,000.
A self-employed reporter was slapped with a €5,000 penalty the previous month for a string of satirical social media postings in 2021 wherein she poked fun at Meloni for her short stature. Additional disputes are pending, such as that of Luciano Canfora; an octogenarian history academic who is set to face prosecution in October for labelling Meloni as an “innate neo-Nazi”.
Judges in Italy often frown upon the use of coarse language, even if it is directed at a condemned felon, stated media attorney Di Pietro, recalling a scenario from 2020 where a reporter was handed a €600 fine, in addition to legal fees, for branding a deceased mafia assassin as worthless.
Italian case law does not recognise the right to hurl insults, according to Di Pietro. He added, defamation does not always arise from the words you utter, but the manner in which you articulate them. More members of Meloni’s team have looked towards the law for protection from attackers. Guido Crosetto, Defence Minister, was on the brink of filing a lawsuit against a daily newspaper claiming that he was embroiled in a conflict of interest due to his historic defence sector profession.
While Crosetto didn’t drag the newspaper to court, three of its journalists are now facing a criminal probe for supposedly obtaining and dispersing classified materials, including the minister’s income tax report. If convicted, they risk being sentenced to five years of incarceration.
Francesco Lollobrigida, Agriculture Minister and brother-in-law of Meloni, brought a case against a Rome-based philosophy lecturer who compared his remarks on migrant-driven “ethnic replacement” of Italians to those of a “neo-Hitlerite ruler”. However, a judge brushed aside Lollobrigida’s claim in May. Il Foglio’s correspondent Capone views Urso’s libel lawsuit as a pestering issue rather than a severe threat, but admits to scrutinising every phrase he writes.
“There’s a slight increase in pressure,” Capone confessed. “Each time I write about the subjects addressed by the ministry, I ponder on the best way to communicate them and the appropriate language to employ.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024.