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In this morning’s Times, Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano, who has been in hiding since writing his best-selling expose of Neopolitan organised crime, decries the increasingly gangsterish tactics of the Italian government in dealing with its critics:
Anyone in Italy today who criticises the Government or the Prime Minister knows what to expect in return — not a contrary opinion, but a campaign aimed at discrediting him.
…
Tomorrow a large demonstration promoted by the Italian National Press Federation is being held in Rome — a strange protest for a democratic state. Never before has the press had to demonstrate to safeguard its own freedom in Europe. Italy looks more and more like an anomaly in the heart of Western Europe.
Obviously, Italy cannot be compared with China, Cuba, Burma or Iran. For us to demonstrate in defence of freedom of expression means to demand to be allowed to carry out one’s work without being personally attacked. It means denouncing an all-encompassing climate of menace.
As Saviano says, it’s astounding that this happens in the European Union in 2009. You can read more about the situation in Index on Censorship’s report here.
Hat tip: Nick Cohen
Newspapers linked to Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi have launched an attack on state broadcaster RAI, telling readers not to pay their television licence fee. The call is part of a long-running assault on media critical of the governing party and Berlusconi’s business empire.
Download Index on Censorship’s report on political interference in Italian media here
Following user protests, Facebook has decided to shut down gaming application “Bounce The Illegal Immigrant Back”. The game was posted by Renzo Bossi, the son of Umberto Bossi, party leader of the Northern League and part of Berlusconi’s fourth cabinet. The game sees players pushing back the “boats of hope” and kicking the immigrants back into the sea. Last week there were reports of the deaths of several Africans whose ship ran out of fuel whilst migrating from Libya to Italy. Read more here
In the northern town of Varallo Sesia in Italy, women wearing the “burkini”, a garment made up of a veil, a tunic and loose leggings, face a fine of €500 if they are spotted at swimming pools or rivers. The mayor of the northern Piedmont town said: “The sight of a ‘masked woman’ could disturb small children, not to mention problems of hygiene.” Read more here