(RSF/IFEX) – On 24 February 2004, a court in Trieste, northeastern Italy, sentenced Massimiliano Melilli to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay a 100,000 euro (approx. US$124,400) fine for “defamation”. Melilli formerly worked as a journalist for the local weekly “Il Meridiano”. In a letter to Justice Minister Roberto Castelli, RSF strongly […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 24 February 2004, a court in Trieste, northeastern Italy, sentenced Massimiliano Melilli to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay a 100,000 euro (approx. US$124,400) fine for “defamation”. Melilli formerly worked as a journalist for the local weekly “Il Meridiano”.
In a letter to Justice Minister Roberto Castelli, RSF strongly condemned the sentence, pointing out that under recommendations by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Commission and the special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, prison sentences should not be imposed for press offences.
“Although the party who believes itself to be defamed is obviously entitled to reparation, it is unthinkable that a journalist should be imprisoned in one of the founding countries of the European Union for having written an article,” the organisation said. “Locking up this journalist would be a major disgrace for Italy and Europe,” RSF added, while calling for urgent reform of Italian legislation on defamation.
The offending newspaper articles, published on 9 and 16 November 1996, reported on rumours of “erotic parties” reportedly attended by Trieste high society. In the articles, Melilli focused on Rosanna Illy, wife of the then mayor and current president of the Frioul-Vénétie region, Riccardo Illy, but did not actually name her. Rosanna Illy denied the allegations and sued for libel, saying the journalist had distorted her remarks in an interview carried by “Il Meridiano”.
On 1 June 2000, a lower court sentenced Melilli and “Il Meridiano” editor-in-chief Francesco Paticchio to 18 months in prison, although the prosecution had only sought a six-month sentence. Paticchio was discharged on appeal because of his poor health. Melilli appealed to the Court of Cassation.
RSF notes that Italian courts handed down prison sentences for “defamation” against Stefano Surace, former managing editor of the weekly “Le Ore”, in 2001 and against Raffaele Jannuzzi, a former journalist for the daily “Il Giornale di Napoli”, in 2002 (see IFEX alerts of 25 November and 13 August 2002).
