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‘Barbs and Slander’
A recent defamation case has come to the fore of the Italian political landscape. The case concerns the journalist Giulia Cortese and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in what a Milanese judge has ruled earlier this July are defamatory remarks amounting to ‘body-shaming.’ The remarks in question – a barb from Cortese mocking Meloni’s height – may appear insignificant, but this lawsuit lies represents and fits within a broader pattern of actions taken by the current Italian administration against freedom of speech in Italy. This is not the first time that Meloni has litigated against her critics during her Premiership. Another notable example is her successful defamation lawsuit against famed journalist and author Roberto Saviano. While the increasing number of defamatory lawsuits against journalists in Italy gives pause for concern, the greater systemic assault against Italian freedom of speech runs far deeper, necessitating a greater understanding of freedom of speech within Italy.
Understanding Italian Freedom of Speech
First, it is important to establish the origins of contemporary Italian freedom of speech as being born out of – and in contrast to – the censorship of Benito Mussolini’s fascist government. Time Magazine carried a denunciation of such censorship back in 1927 from Chicago Daily News correspondent George Seldes for, “reducing the Italian press to utter subservience to Dictator Mussolini… Mr. Seldes went on to tell how foreign correspondents, under threats of expulsion, effective because they are feared, are bullied by the censorship.” Following the Italian Civil War, the republican government would ratify a new constitution articulating free speech rights. Art. 21 of the constitution declared, “anyone has the right to freely express their thoughts in speech, writing, or any other form of communication. The press may not be subjected to any authorisation or censorship.” Art.17 compliments these rights, specifying that, “citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and unarmed. No previous notice is required for meetings, including those held in places open the public. In case of meetings held in public places, previous notice shall be given to the authorities, who may prohibit them only for proven reason of security or public safety.”
Strikingly, this articulation of the right to freedom of speech mirrors the international recognition to this right that would follow the Italian Constitution in 1948. The definition of freedom of speech found within Art. 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) expresses that, “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Art. 20 compliments this, establishing that, “everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.” While Italy was not a member of the United Nations at the time, and therefore could not vote on this matter, the document’s significance in deeply influencing and providing the framework for international human rights law cannot go unmentioned while discussing the post-war formation of Italian freedom of speech. Italy was on the same page as those who ratified the UDHR as it pertained to this right in this post war period. In this context, one can go on to better analyze the more systematic actions of the current Italian administration vis-à-vis the post-war establishment of Italian freedom of speech.
Barring Critical Discourse
The defamation lawsuits brought by Meloni are noteworthy in themselves; however, these individual cases are indicative of the system as a whole. That is to say, the actions of the current Italian government systemically run counter to the already established roots of Italian freedom of speech. Take, for instance, the assertion that it is not just Meloni herself seemingly making use of Italian defamation laws to go after critics: her administration has employed defamation lawsuits to such ends as seen in the case brought by Agriculture Minister – Meloni’s brother-in-law – Francesco Lollobrigida against political philosopher Donatella Di Cesare. Di Cesare opined that this case, brought against her after she drew a comparison between comments by Lollobrigida and Mein Kampf, demonstrates that, “the aim of defamation trials like mine is not just to intimidate… Those who draw attention to the movement’s fascist roots are being punished.” Individual instances of wielding defamation lawsuits against critical voices and efforts by the Meloni administration to increase the consequences for defamation have garnered attention for their apparent front to freedom of speech. Senator Alberto Balboni – a member of Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) ruling coalition party – introduced legislation in 2023 that has been revealed to maintain potential lengthy, years-long prison sentences for defamation, while simultaneously incurring a ban on working as a journalist for up to six months in addition to raising the fine for defamation by thousands of euros.
Efforts by Meloni’s government to alter and utilize defamation laws to their own benefit aside, her administration has progressively sought to totally remake the publicly-owned broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), leading to backlash and a strike this past May at RAI. RAI journalist and head of the Italian National Press Federation, Vittorio di Trapani stated, “we have always fought against every effort to gag freedom of speech, but I want to make it plain that what has been happening in recent months is unprecedented.” The strike succeeded another incident at RAI when an anticipated talk with Antonio Scurati, professor and author of M: Son of the Century – a book critically chronicling the rise to power of Mussolini and the Fascists, was abruptly cancelled before its April 25th airing – the same date as Italy’s Festa della Liberazione from fascism – for ‘editorial reasons.’ Scurati was adamant as to what he believed the reasoning for the abrupt cancellation was though, stating to Le Monde that, “this government persists in its attempts to rewrite history and impose its hegemony on the country by force and political leverage,” continuing to assert that, “this incident reveals that its conception of power is not exactly dictatorial, but rather authoritarian…” While Meloni sought to abate any notion of censorship by posting Scurati’s speech in full to her Facebook page, the perception of censorship nonetheless remained. The systemic assault against the freedom of speech goes beyond efforts to quell certain individuals and remake the public broadcaster though.
Closing Down the Public Square
Speech in public spaces has likewise become a target under the current government both by law and force. Shocking scenes from a pro-Palestinian demonstration sparked outrage this past February in Pisa when police beat schoolchildren attending the protest, with Reuters reporting that teachers at Pisa’s Russoli high school – near to where the demonstration took place – stated that, “we found boys and girls from our classes trembling and shocked… from the beatings they received.” Likewise, The ability to publicly demonstrate in Italy – a cornerstone of freedom of speech – has been subjected to legislative constriction and control. The current administration has sought to reshape laws concerning public demonstration – attempting to enhance the penalties for those found to be in violations of increasingly stricter controls concerning public protests – all in the name of ‘security.’ This ‘security bill,’ termed disegno di legge 1660 or just ‘ddl sicurezza’ in Italian, has been snaking its way through the Italian legislature – passing through parliament’s lower house this past September and awaiting approval in the upper house. Meloni’s administration has already increased the penalties for anyone found to have damaged artwork by thousands of euros in light of a spate of recent environmental protests. In tandem with these penalties, ‘ddl sicurezza’ would further criminalize those resisting arrest, protesters blocking roads and so called ‘strategic’ public works, and those within the justice system engaging in hunger strikes alongside other forms of passive resistance. All the while, the advancement of this ‘security bill’ through the legislature continues sparking public demonstrations.
Raising the Alarm
This all paints a rather grim picture of the current state and trajectory of Italian freedom of speech, and it would be easy enough to discount all of this as being dramatic – especially given the normalization of Meloni and her party on behalf of the EU. There is a veritable orchestra of alarm bells being rung by NGOs on Italy in this regard though. Reporters Sans Frontières(RSF) notes in their Analysis 2024, Europe – Central Asia Toxic Kremlin influence reaches EU, that while not ranking among the bottom three in Europe for press freedoms alongside Hungary, Malta, and Greece – nonetheless, “Giorgia Meloni’s Italy (46th) has also fallen five places.” While it may come as some relief that RSF does not rank Italy as low as such aforementioned standouts, the descent in Italy’s ranking can be attributed to the factors covered thus far, with RSF noting the fear of defamation against journalists and public figures by politicians that abounds in Italy. The raising of red flags by NGOs goes beyond concerns for journalists though.
Amnesty International noted Italy’s constriction of rights to freedom of expression in 2023, specifically making mention of the aforementioned laws discussed to clamp down on public protests along with instances of excessive force by the police against protestors. Striking at the heart of the discourse as it pertains to publicly protesting though, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention – a legally binding convention that seeks to safeguard an environment adequate to one’s health and well-being – has staunchly criticized efforts to curtail public demonstrations against climate change in Italy. Writing in the Italian news publication Domani in the context of Italy’s increasing restrictions against environmental protests, Special Rapporteur Michel Forst stated that, “illegal actions are sometimes legitimate. While one may disagree with some of these actions, acknowledging their legitimacy is key to understand what environmental activists stand for and why they fight for it that way. If governments fail to understand that, they will fail to adequately respond to civil disobedience,” later continuing to note that, “When peaceful protests are banned, protesting becomes an act of civil disobedience. Climate activists should not be banned from a city for that. We should all be concerned of where that leads us.”
Therefore, while defamation cases over perceived slights may certainly appear innocuous enough in their presentation, taken collectively with the government exerting control over the public broadcaster and laws framed around ‘protecting’ cultural heritage by restricting protestors, these efforts represent an assault against the very idea of modern Italian freedom of speech. Italian freedom of speech, that very same freedom of speech that was born out of opposition to Italian Fascism, having been in lockstep with the UDHR since its foundation, is endangered by these efforts in tandem. While there have been protests against this seeming attack, greater action must be taken now to guarantee what have and always will be self-evident rights to all.
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