Italian government increases pressure on press freedom
Pressure on press freedom has increased in Italy since the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni came to power, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have denounced on Tuesday after a fact-finding mission.
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These NGOs were particularly concerned about defamation lawsuits -- Meloni herself sued journalist and writer Roberto Saviano -- and the takeover of a major news agency by a far-right politician.
The two-day mission by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) had been planned for the autumn but was brought forward because of "worrying developments", Andreas Lamm of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) told a press conference in Rome.
The ECPMF's monitoring mission, which logs incidents affecting media freedom such as legal cases or physical attacks, has recorded a deterioration in Italy, with 46 cases in 2022 rising to 80 in 2023, including 49 since the start of this year.
Meloni, head of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, came to power in October 2022. The NGOs voiced concern over government interference at RAI, the public broadcaster, which has prompted a journalists' strike this month.
The NGO representatives, who will publish a report in the coming weeks, recommended, among other things, the appointment of independent leaders for RAI.
They also deplored the failure of successive Italian governments to decriminalise defamation, despite calls to do so from Italy's constitutional court.
"In a European democracy, a prime minister does not respond to criticism by intimidating writers like Saviano through the courts," said David Diaz-Jogeix of the London-based NGO Article 19.
The group also raised the alarm over the takeover of the AGI news agency by a group linked to a lawmaker from the League, the anti-immigrant party led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, which has also prompted a staff strike.
As things stand, Italy risks falling foul of new EU legislation on media freedom, introduced in part to address the deterioration in countries such as Hungary and Poland.
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