Giorgia Meloni’s government is strategically using defamation lawsuits to silence the nation’s intellectuals, a philosopher who is being sued by the Italian prime minister’s brother-in-law has claimed.
In the latest in a series of lawsuits based on Italy’s relatively strict defamation laws, Donatella di Cesare of Rome’s Sapienza University was sued on May 15 by Italy’s Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida. Appear in the capital’s criminal court. She commented on one of his speeches by comparing it to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Lollobrigida, who is married to Meloni’s sister and is considered one of the prime minister’s closest allies, told a trade union conference in April 2023 that he urged the country not to “give in to ideas of ethnic change”. The call caused a stir. Italians are having fewer children, so we replace them with others. ”
On the same day, the court recognized that the term “ethnic replacement,” which Di Cesare had said on the talk show “Di Maltedi,” had white supremacist connotations, and that it was based on the words “Mein Kampf” and the National Socialist ideology. Most of the comments are about the possibility of being seen in
The philosopher, who is writing a book on the continuities between Nazi ideology and modern conspiracy theories, said Mr. Lollobrigida “spoke as if: go lighter”, regional leader of Hitler’s party.
In his criminal complaint, Lollobrigida said that Di Cesare’s portrayal of him as a “Nazi who glorifies concentration camps and supports extermination camps as a solution to the immigration problem” is “merely defamatory.” “It’s shameful,” he said.
“I don’t understand how my words can be likened to Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf,'” he said. Di Cesare’s comments, he continued, “had the sole purpose of destroying a person and dishonoring both myself and my colleagues.”
Di Cesare, 67, said her comments were not meant to be defamatory, but rather political criticism. “I said Lollobrigida said: go lighterIt’s not like he was one of them,” she told the Guardian. “What we’re seeing here is a legal process for historical comparisons.”
She said she believes the legal process is part of a political strategy. “The purpose of libel cases like mine is not just to intimidate, but to remove left-wing intellectuals from public life,” she said. “Meloni was very keen to give the post-fascist movement a new, more acceptable face. Those who draw attention to the fascist roots of this movement are being punished.”
Meloni and Lollobrigida did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
Defamation in Italy can be tried in civil or criminal courts. In the latter case, aggravated defamation can be punishable by six years in prison, making it the harshest sentence of its kind in the EU after Slovakia (which can also carry up to seven years in prison).
A court hearing in Rome on May 15 will decide whether Mr. Di Cesare’s case will be resolved in civil or criminal court.
A recent report found that during Meloni’s first year in power in Italy, the most strategic lawsuits against public participation, or so-called slap lawsuits, were filed in Europe. study By the European Parliament’s Freedom, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE).
Parallel to the case against Di Cesare, classical historian Luciano Canfora, 81, of Bari, Puglia, is facing an aggravated libel trial. In April 2022, before Meloni was appointed prime minister, Canfora described Meloni as a “deep-rooted neo-Nazi” and said Meloni’s complaint “tends to distort and misrepresent her political identity”. Ta.
In another criminal defamation case involving the prime minister, author Roberto Saviano defamed far-right League leaders Meloni and Matteo Salvini as “bastards” on TV in 2020 for abusive language against NGOs. In October 2023, the company was fined 1,000 euros. -We operate ships that rescue people in the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite a recommendation from Italy’s Supreme Court to Meloni’s government last month, changes to defamation laws remain uncertain. put off Congressional debate on a bill to end the criminalization of journalists and writers accused of defamation.
“There have been defamation cases against politicians and journalists in Italy, but this time is different,” Di Cesare said. “Public intellectuals like Saviano, Canfora or myself do not enjoy the protection of political parties or newspapers.”
According to statistics from the Italian Press Freedom Association Information, More than 5,000 defamation lawsuits are filed against journalists in Italy every year. In the end, 90% of claims are dismissed as unfounded.
“In Italy, the practice of filing defamation lawsuits is often used as a legal tool to deter or intimidate journalists, who often abandon reporting during investigations,” said the group’s founder. argued Alberto Spampinato.
2023 annual report A report by the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Promotion of the Safety of Journalists said that the use of strategic litigation has not decreased in Italy. “Not only has Italy failed to decriminalize defamation, but the new coalition government has endorsed the use of the judicial process to silence critics.”
Cited report Twitter posts in 2022 A few days after his appointment as Minister of Defence, Guido Crozet said: “I am convinced that when faced with defamation, the only way publishers, editors and journalists will understand is denunciation in civil and criminal proceedings.” “There is,” he said. Accusation of conflict of interest.
The case involving newspaper Domani was referred to prosecutors by Crossett, who ordered the newspaper to reveal the sources of articles alleging that Domani had received funds from the military industry. As a result, three journalists were targeted for investigation. In response to a question from the Guardian about the strategic use of defamation proceedings, Mr Crossett said: “I have not brought charges against the Domani newspaper or its journalists, but I have only asked the judicial authorities to verify how the non-public or unavailable data was published.”This is a different and more serious act than defamation. […] Having said that, I also consider defamation to be very serious, and true journalism should be about telling the truth, even unpleasant truths, and should not be used as a megaphone for falsehoods or defamation. I believe it is not. ”
An open letter in support of Di Cesare, published by four British professors at the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Philosophy at Kingston University in London, says that cases like hers are “illiberal and hollowing out” to silence opponents. He claimed that the tactics were reminiscent of those used in “democracies”.
“In a democratic country, it is unthinkable for a minister to drag a philosopher to court over political-cultural or historical-philosophical issues. Rather, democratic debate should take place on these issues,” the letter said. There is.
“Supporters of a democratic government should respond to even severe political criticism with words, not with lawsuits,” Di Cesare said. “I’m a pacifist and anti-racist, but I’m happy to discuss that.”
