Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Giorgia Meloni is an Italian politician and journalist, the country's prime minister since October 22 has put one of the country's most famous investigative journalists on trial, reported France Press.

This is the second such case since Meloni came to power, reported France Press.

Meloni's defamation lawsuit against investigative journalist Roberto Saviano began a week ago.

The news was reported by Emiliano Fittipaldi, who works for the leftist daily Domani.

Last week, a judge in Rome ruled that there would be a trial on Meloni's complaint against him.

An adviser to Meloni stated that the first session of the trial is scheduled after more than a year and a half, for July 10, 2024.

Fittipaldi is accused of distorting the facts in an article published last year that suggested the far-right leader had tried to help a friend win a government tender during the pandemic.

The journalist claims that he has reported only reliable information and promises that he and his newspaper will continue with their journalistic investigations, including on inconvenient matters.

Fittipaldi is known for his revelations of scandals in the Vatican.

According to him, it is common in Italy for an investigative journalist to be tried, but for the first time he will be tried by the Prime Minister of Italy.

Meloni was outraged that the Italian media was discussing why she took her daughter to the G20

In the publication that gave rise to the case, Fittipaldi said that Meloni phoned Domenico Arcuri, the government's special commissioner for the fight against Covid-19, to recommend a friend participating in a public tender for the supply of masks.

According to Fittipaldi, Meloni confirmed she spoke to Arcuri on the phone, but denied trying to influence Arcuri's decisions.

Meloni and her lawyer accuse the Domani newspaper of publishing the information with a defamatory headline that misleads the reader.

"This case is the result of an article cleverly crafted to push baseless and defamatory claims," ​​said Meloni's lawyer, Luca Libra.

Defamation through the media is punishable in Italy by 6 months to 3 years in prison, notes BTA.

Georgia Meloni

defamation case

a journalist