Far-Right Politicians Charge After Mob-Hunting Author

Michael Hedges November 17, 2022 - Follow on Twitter

Public figures are urged to take stands in support of civil liberties and humanitarian causes. Sometimes they do and sometimes not. This includes those in the literary and journalism worlds. The upside is public acclaim. The downsides are lawsuits and worse.

Roberto Saviano is an Italian crime writer. In Italy this means writing about the mafia, always a source of intrigue. He wrote Gomorrah, published in 2006, an investigative work detailing activities of the Camorra Neapolitan mob clans. It was adapted into a film and, more recently, a TV series first offered on Sky Atlantic then streaming service HBO Max. The mobsters were not pleased. Sr Saviano has had police protection since the book was published.

As a public figure he has been quite active. He regularly contributes to Italian newspapers l’Espresso and La Repubblica as well as the New York Times, El Pais, Die Zeit and the Guardian. Mobsters and corruption are his main themes. More recently he has spoken out against Italian political attitudes toward migrants and refugees, related to people trafficking and corruption.

On public broadcaster RAI La7 TV interview program PiazzaPulita (December 3, 2020) he roasted right-wing politicians Matteo Salvini and Giorgia Meloni for attempts to thwart Spanish rescue NGO Open Arms from giving aid to refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean. He specifically pointed to the death at sea of a six-month old from Guinea. At the time Sr Salvini was between government ministry positions as general secretary of the right-wing populist Lega Nord party. He recently became deputy prime minister. Sra Meloni was leader of the Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) political party, which descends from facist leader Benito Mussolini. She was recently named Italy’s prime minister. Sr Saviano disparaged both. “All I can say is: bastards, how could you? Meloni, Salvini: bastards.”

Sra Meloni filed a criminal defamation lawsuit in 2021. This week in Rome the first hearing was held and the parties made brief statements, reported La Repubblica (November 15). “I am the most prosecuted journalist by this government,” said Sr Saviano. Attorney for PM Meloni, Luca Libra, suggested “the possibility of withdrawing the complaint.” Sra Meloni did not attend as she was traveling to Bali for the G20. Sr Salvini asked to be included in the complaint. His separate defamation suit against Sr Saviano - for calling him “minister of the mob” - will be heard in February. The “bastard” trial was continued until December 12 with a new judge assigned.

Writers and civil libertarians in Italy and elsewhere are rallying around Sr Saviano. PEN International reached out to PM Meloni to ““do everything in your power to support investigative journalism and independent media,” quoted by Euronews (November 17). “As the Prime Minister of Italy, pursuing your case against him would send a chilling message to all journalists and writers in the country, who may no longer dare to speak out for fear of reprisals.”

“No journalist or writer should be prosecuted for expressing their honest opinion on issues of public interest,” noted the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in a statement (November 16). “A criminal defamation suit is not an acceptable response in a democracy, all the more so when it comes from a high ranking representative of the institution. This threat to Saviano reveals, once again, the degree of the abuse of defamation suits or SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) in Italy.”

See also...

• Hot Topics - Media in Italy

• Hot Topics - Defamation Law