Pressure on press freedom in Italy has intensified following the rise to power of the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni, which several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) criticized this Friday after a mission on the ground.
These NGOs were particularly concerned about libel lawsuits (Meloni herself sued journalist and writer Roberto Saviano) and the takeover of an important news agency by a far-right MP.
The two-day mission, led by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), was planned for the fall but was postponed due to “worrying developments,” explained Andreas Lamm of the European Center for Press and Freedom of Information. (ECPMF, English acronym) during a press conference in Rome.
The ECPMF monitoring mission, which counts incidents affecting press freedom such as trials or physical attacks, found a worsening situation in Italy, from 46 cases in 2022 to 80 in 2023 and 49 since January this year.
Meloni, head of the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, came to power in October 2022. NGOs have raised concerns about government interference in public audiovisual group RAI, which sparked a journalists’ strike this year. .
The NGO representatives, who will publish a report in the coming weeks, recommended, among other things, the appointment of independent directors for RAI.
They also deplored the failure of several Italian governments to decriminalize libel, despite appeals on the matter by the Italian Constitutional Court.
“In a European democracy, the prime minister does not respond to criticism by intimidating writers like Saviano through legal means,” criticized David Diaz-Jogueix of London-based NGO Article 19.
The group also warned of a takeover of the AGI agency by a group belonging to a League lawmaker, the anti-immigrant party led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, which also led to a staff strike.
In the current situation, Italy risks failing to comply with new European press freedom legislation introduced partly to address the worsening situation in countries such as Hungary and Poland.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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