Libel. Ossigeno help an acquitted journalist pay defence expenses of a lawsuit

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Stefania De Cristofaro was acquitted and describes the incident: sued by a lawyer for two articles of legal news published in 2018 on BrindisiReport

OSSIGENO January 29^th 2022 – The Free Legal Aid Office of Ossigeno which works in collaboration with Media Defence has awarded a financial contribution to partially cover the legal costs of the journalist Stefania De Cristofaro who described events with this written text for Ossigeno.

I thank Ossigeno per l’Informazione for the attention and the financial and moral support addressed to journalists who are on trial as a result of litigation and / or subpoenas for damages, sometimes vexatious.

In my case, the support was a shot in the arm from a financial point of view for the payment of the legal costs incurred by the lawyer who assisted me as defendant in lawsuit for libel and, at the same time, an injection of confidence in a moment of massive discouragement because when you have to defend yourself and prove that you have done your job correctly (and it is not the first time) you question your career choice and you wonder if it is worth continuing to do this job.

I was sued for libel by a lawyer as the offended party in a trial I reported about for the online newspaper BrindisiReport (editorial group CityNews) in January 2018, a newspaper with which since 2020 I no longer collaborate. The lawyer, using an urgent appeal, asked for 300,000 euro for compensation.

The civil court of Rome found that there was no defamation and in the sentence, the judge Cecilia Pratesi, recognized the exercise of the right to report in compliance with the norms of the Supreme Court regarding the media: “Facts adequately verified, told in a neutral and calm tone, the texts do not contain verbal intemperance or gratuitously offensive expressions”. But it’s not over; the lawyer has filed an appeal.

Stefania De Cristofaro

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Other interventions by the Legal Aid Office of Ossigeno

Brindisi: the reporter Stefania De Cristofaro cited for damages by a lawyer is acquitted – Ossigeno per l ‘Informazione

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