The trial of journalists accused of defamation by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni begins today.
Emiliano Fittipaldi, who works for the left-wing newspaper Domani, and the paper’s director Stefano Veltri are accused of distorting the facts in a 2021 article suggesting that the far-right leader tried to help a friend win a public competition during the pandemic.
In October 2021, Emiliano Fittipaldi wrote in the controversial article about an email allegedly sent by a businessman to the then Coronavirus Emergency Commissioner, Domenico Arcuri, which was known to Giorgia Meloni, to highlight the entry of the businessman who wanted to participate in the prevention campaign. mask business.
Fittipaldi also noted in the article that Meloni had contacted Arcuri. The then Fratelli d’Italia party leader did not object to the facts – which had been verified and partially recorded – but to the use of the term “recommendation” and decided to open criminal and civil proceedings.
A year later, the businessman Meloni referred to became a member of Fratelli d’Italia, the lawyer in the case became the undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, Meloni became prime minister and the judge ordered the trial.
When Melino opened the case against the journalists, she said she did so “as a citizen, a journalist, a politician and before holding government positions.”
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