12 very likely violations between 1-17 of April

25 April 2019

To the detriment of journalists and bloggers, identified by Ossigeno per l’Informazione that reported them to the authorities.

Ossigeno per l’Informazionebelieves that each of the episodes reported below deserves careful verification, to establish whether – as seems from an initial examination – they represent actual and unjustifiable violations of freedom of the press and of expression and if, as a consequence, journalists and other people who have been harmed deserve solidarity and assistance. Having already committed its resources to the prompt verification of other equally worthy episodes, the Observatory hopes that other organizations can take these cases up  making the results of their work public, as Ossigeno does, and informing our Observatory.

ABRUZZO – Berardo Santilli, Alberto Orsini

L’AQUILA – The Court of L’Aquila has set aside the libel proceedings against journalists Berardo Santilli and Alberto Orsini at the time director and editor of AbruzzoWebrespectively because the evidence does not support it. The two had been sued by the general manager of the local health unit Avezzano-Sulmona-L’Aquilafor a series of articles in 2017 on some anomalies found within the surgical block of the San Salvatore Hospital  of L’Aquila and reported by a nurse.

The judge acknowledged that Santilli and Orsini had the right to report “given the objective interest of the facts and the correctness and truth of the reporting”. Abruzzoweb carried the news ​​(read here)

SICILY – Tiziana Colluto and Danilo Lupo

BARCELONA POZZO DI GOTTO (Messina) – The Civil Court of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (Me) has rejected the request for damages by Roberto Saija amounting to 220 thousand euro against journalists Tiziana Colluto and Danilo Lupo for their investigation into the photovoltaic business in the Salento and in the province of Brindisi and into the investigations of the magistracy. For the judge, the summons does not show “what are the negative consequences”on the level of capital and “there is no evidence of any prejudicial consequence to be settled”not even from the non-financial standpoint. The judge also acknowledges that the work of the journalists falls within the guidelines envisaged by the exercise of the right to report. Saija was sentenced to pay the court costs of the journalists. trnews.itreported the story (read here)

MOLISE – Andrea Succi, Carmine Gazzani and Emiliano Marrone

FOSSALTO (Campobasso) – The Court of Appeal of Campobasso has fully acquitted the journalists Andrea Succi, Carmine Gazzani and Emiliano Marrone because of the lack of evidence. They had been sued by the former mayor of Fossalto (Campobasso), Nicola Cornacchione, for two articles published in 2012 on the Infiltrato.itwebsite on the  anti-seismic refurbishment  of the school in the town of Molise. In the articles it stated that, after repair work costing 473 thousand euro, the building was still declared unfit for use by the plaintiff’s successor. In the first instance, the Court of Isernia had acquitted the three journalists. isnews.itreported the story (read here)

WEB – Maurizio Bolognetti

WEB – The journalist Maurizio Bolognetti has filed a formal complaint with the prosecutor of Lagonegro (Potenza) for the insults and threats received via social networks. A Facebook user, nicknamed “Shikey” wrote on Facebook to Bolognetti. The director of Radio Radicale, Alessio Falconio, has expressed solidarity with Bolognetti. ufficiostampabasilicata.itreported the story (read here)

ABRUZZO – Luca Maggitti

ROSETO (Teramo) – Offensive comments  against the journalist of Il MessaggeroLuca Maggitti, have been written on the walls of Roseto degli Abruzzi (Teramo). The Journalists Union of Abruzzo and Ussi Abruzzo have intervened to express solidarity with Maggitti.

abruzzo livecovered the story (read here) and on the web site of the Italian National Press Federation FNSI.

SICILY – Massimo Ciccarello

SYRACUSE – The Court of Syracuse has dismissed the libel proceedings against the journalist of the online newspaper LaNota7Massimo Ciccarello. The journalist was sued in 2017 by the then municipal councillor of the M5S political party Teo Paratore for an article in which Ciccarello commented on a message posted on Facebook by Paratore.

augustanews (read here) and siracusapost (read here) carried the story.

PUGLIA – Antonio Loconte and Adolfo Cristiano Degni

BARI – The Court of Bari has dismissed the libel suit filed by Francesco Rocca and Flavio Ronzi, national and international presidents respectively of the Red Cross, against Antonio Loconte and Adolfo Cristiano Degni of Il Quotidiano Italiano. Il Quotidiano Italiano has the story (read here)