{"id":22300,"date":"2026-04-17T13:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=22300"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:36:15","slug":"italy-roberto-saviano-cleared-of-defaming-italian-deputy-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/04\/17\/italy-roberto-saviano-cleared-of-defaming-italian-deputy-prime-minister.html","title":{"rendered":"Italy: Roberto Saviano cleared of defaming Italian Deputy Prime Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement<\/a> of PEN International about Roberto Saviano.<\/p>\n

\u2018PEN International welcomes the court\u2019s verdict, as it reaffirms the vital role of free expression. However, the\u00a0abusive lawsuit initiated by Italy\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister sent a chilling warning to writers and journalists across the country that they too could be next. While we celebrate the good news, we must remember that Saviano fought these preposterous charges for years. We\u00a0continue to stand with\u00a0Saviano and reiterate calls on the Italian authorities to repeal criminal defamation. No one should be intimidated and harassed into silence merely for their critical expression\u2019,\u00a0<\/em>said\u00a0Burhan Sonmez,\u00a0PEN International President.<\/strong><\/p>\n

17 April 2026 \u2013 The Italian authorities must\u00a0urgently repeal all criminal defamation laws\u00a0and enact legislation protecting writers, journalists and others from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), PEN International said today, after writer, journalist, and PEN award winner Roberto Saviano was cleared of defaming Italy\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister\u00a0Matteo Salvini\u00a0following\u00a0a years-long trial.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 16 April 2026, a court in Rome\u00a0found\u00a0Roberto Saviano\u00a0not\u00a0guilty<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0defaming\u00a0Italy\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister\u00a0Matteo Salvini\u00a0\u2013 then\u00a0also serving as\u00a0Interior Minister\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u00a0over a speech that described him as \u2018Ministro della Mala Vita\u2019 (Minister of the Underworld), a phrase borrowed from early 20th\u00a0century anti-fascist Gaetano Salvemini. In his speech, Saviano accused Salvini of ignoring the mafia stranglehold on Italy in favour of stirring up resentment against immigrants.\u00a0Saviano first announced on\u00a020 March 2019\u00a0that he had been summoned to stand trial under Article 595 of the Italian Penal Code, which carries up to three years in prison.\u00a0The trial opened on 1 February 2023.\u00a0Already in 2018, Salvini had\u00a0threatened<\/a>\u00a0to remove Saviano\u2019s police protection, in place since October 2006 after Saviano received threats from the mafia following the March 2006 publication of his bestseller\u00a0Gomorrah<\/em>.\u00a0PEN International\u00a0repeatedly urged<\/a>\u00a0the Italian authorities to dismiss all criminal defamation charges against Saviano, in a lawsuit that bore the hallmarks of a SLAPP.<\/p>\n

Previously, on 12 October 2023, Saviano was found\u00a0guilty<\/a>\u00a0and fined for defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after he criticised her 2020 speech in which she said that NGO boats attempting to rescue refugees in the central Mediterranean should be seized and sunk, and the migrants on board repatriated.\u00a0PEN International\u00a0condemned<\/a>\u00a0the verdict\u00a0as an alarming setback for free speech. Saviano\u00a0subsequently decided not to appeal.<\/p>\n

PEN International opposes\u00a0criminal defamation in all cases.\u00a0Notably, in September 2023, the Assembly of Delegates of PEN International adopted a\u202fresolution<\/a>\u202fon criminal defamation laws and SLAPPs, which specifically called for all charges against Saviano to be dropped.\u00a0PEN International\u00a0joins partners<\/a>\u00a0in welcoming the\u00a0approval of the\u00a0European delegation law, which grants\u00a0Italy\u2019s\u00a0government the mandate to transpose Directive (EU) 2024\/1069,\u00a0better\u00a0known as the Anti-SLAPP Directive. The\u00a0deadline for implementation\u00a0has been\u00a0set for 7 May 2026.<\/p>\n

Additional information\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roberto Saviano, born on 22 September 1979, is the author of\u00a0Gomorrah<\/em>, an international bestseller that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Other books include\u00a0La\u00a0bellezza\u00a0e\u00a0l\u2019inferno<\/em>\u00a0(Beauty and the inferno)<\/em>\u00a0(2009);\u00a0Vieni via con me<\/em>\u00a0(Come away with me)<\/em>\u00a0(2011),\u00a0ZeroZeroZero<\/em>\u00a0(2013),\u00a0La\u00a0paranza\u00a0dei\u00a0bambini<\/em>\u00a0(The children\u2019s boat)<\/em>\u00a0(2016),\u00a0In mare non\u00a0esistono\u00a0taxi (There are no taxis at sea)<\/em>\u00a0(2019),\u00a0Gridalo<\/em>\u00a0(Shout it)<\/em>\u00a0(2020),\u00a0Solo \u00e8 il\u00a0coraggio<\/em>\u00a0(Only courage)<\/em>\u00a0(2022). He has written several screenplays and theatre scripts and regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines.<\/p>\n

On 14 July 2025, a court in Rome\u00a0upheld<\/a>\u00a0convictions handed down in 2021 against\u00a0Francesco Bidognetti,\u00a0a former leader of the Neapolitan Camorra mafia,\u00a0and his former lawyer\u00a0Michele Santonastaso. They were sentenced to 18 months and 14 months in prison, respectively, for intimidating Roberto Saviano. The mafia-related threats \u2013 read out in court in March 2008 by\u00a0Santonastaso\u00a0on behalf of\u00a0Bidognetti\u00a0as the latter stood trial \u2013 forced Saviano to live under 24-hour protection.<\/p>\n

Note to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For further details, contact\u202fAur\u00e9lia Dondo,<\/strong>\u202fHead of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International:\u00a0aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0For media queries, please contact\u202f Sabrina Tucci<\/strong>, Communications and Campaigns Manager at PEN International:\u00a0sabrina.tucci@pen-international.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement of PEN International about Roberto Saviano. \u2018PEN International welcomes the court\u2019s verdict, as it reaffirms the vital role of free expression. However, the\u00a0abusive lawsuit initiated by Italy\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister sent a chilling warning to writers and journalists across the country that they too could be next. While we celebrate the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":22301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22300"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22304,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22300\/revisions\/22304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}