Italy: Former PM Files Criminal & Civil Lawsuit Against Journalist Bianca Berlinguer
Defamation lawsuit follows Berlinguer claiming the former PM pressured journalists to target political rivals with negative press.
Location: Italy, Rome
Date: July 6, 2023
Ex-director of TG3 Bianca Berlinguer is being sued by former PM Matteo Renzi. The politician claims the journalist made defamatory statements about him in an interview. Italian politicians frequently abuse the country’s harsh and archaic defamation laws to intimidate and silence critical journalists. The Coalition For Women In Journalism urges Matteo Renzi to drop the lawsuits and cease legally harassing journalists.
Matteo Renzi, the leader of the Italia Viva party, has instructed his lawyers to take legal action against former TG3 director and journalist Bianca Berlinguer by filing criminal and civil lawsuits.
The legal actions follow an interview with Berlinguer for Il Fatto Quotidiano that Renzi deemed defamatory. During the interview, published on 6 July, Berlinguer explained she left the state broadcaster TG3 for being compelled to adhere to the decisions of a political party. Specifically, she said, "When I was director of TG3, Renzi demanded two reports daily, one against the 5 Stars and another against Bersani."
Luigi Bersani was the former leader of the center-left Democratic Party — a rival of Renzi’s Italia Viva, and the 5 Star Movement — a populist political party that surged in the polls during Renzi’s tenure as prime minister.
In April 2023, Matteo Renzi was appointed the director of the daily newspaper Il Riformista. This has raised concerns about Italy's blurred lines between politics and journalism. While politicians becoming journalists is not uncommon, Renzi's case is notable as he is an active politician running what claims to be an impartial media outlet. Berlinguer’s claims that Renzi previously pressured journalists at TG3 to produce stories targeting specific rival political parties and politicians heighten this concern.
In Italy, politicians, including the current Prime Minister, often exploit defamation laws to target journalists who are critical of them. These cases, commonly called SLAPP cases (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), are aimed at intimidating journalists by weaponizing the law through defamation lawsuits.
The Italian criminal code contains provisions that could result in individuals being imprisoned for up to three years if they engage in defamatory acts through the press. Despite a 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Court calling for the government to abolish laws that allow journalists to be jailed for defamation, the Italian parliament has failed to take action.
In May 2023, journalist Linda Di Benedetto faced threats of legal action from Italian MP Antonio Angelucci following her investigation into his healthcare company's government contracts. Similarly, journalist Sara Manisera is facing a criminal defamation lawsuit filed by the Municipality of Abbiategrasso for comments she made at an awards ceremony in 2022. Local and European journalist organizations have condemned this lawsuit as a SLAPP intended to intimidate the journalist.
In 2021, Giorgia Meloni, an MP at the time and now the Prime Minister, lodged a criminal complaint against journalist Roberto Saviano due to remarks he made on a TV show. In December 2022, a court ruled that the journalist would be prosecuted. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to three years in prison. Saviano is also facing two other defamation lawsuits from Matteo Salvini, the leader of a far-right party and Deputy Prime Minister, and a case from Gennaro Sangiuliano, the current Culture Minister. These three cases are currently ongoing.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls on Matteo Renzi to withdraw his suits against Bianca Berlinguer. Weaponizing the law to muzzle journalists, particularly as someone currently the director of a media outlet, is baffling. Witnessing the repeated use of baseless legal claims by Italian politicians to silence press workers is disheartening. By implementing anti-SLAPP laws, the parliament can provide essential protection for journalists, enabling them to carry out their work without fear of unwarranted legal actions to stifle their voices. We urge the Italian parliament to implement the Constitutional Court ruling and reform its harsh reformation laws immediately.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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