The Russian Ambassador to Italy filed a criminal complaint against the Italian newspaper La Stampa on the grounds that it dealt with the thesis of the murder of Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the newspaper denied the accusation, Prime Minister Mario Draghi reacted to the Russian Ambassador by saying, “We have freedom of the press.”
Russia’s Ambassador to Rome, Sergey Razov, went to the prosecutor’s office in Rome yesterday and filed a complaint against La Stampa newspaper, alleging incitement to crime and praising crime. Making a statement to the press after leaving the court, Ambassador Razov argued that the article subject to the allegation “is outside the ethics, morals and rules of journalism”.
The article that Razov complained about was an analysis published on the front page of La Stampa on March 22. The title of the article by well-known journalist Domenico Quirico was “If the only way out is to kill the tyrant”.
In the article, it was stated that the idea of Putin’s assassination in Moscow by people from his circle was on the agenda, and this idea was questioned in terms of ethics and practice. “Wouldn’t the violent elimination of the tyrant trigger worse chaos?” Quirico analyzed. He ended with his protest.
Upon the Russian Ambassador’s criminal complaint, La Stampa Editor-in-Chief Massimo Giannini rejected the allegation of incitement to crime, emphasizing that on the contrary, the article opposes the thesis of killing Putin.
Giannini responded to Russia’s claim with a video-message and said the following about the article in question:
“(Article) He quoted a thesis that was repeated in all news outlets and in many government circles that it was best to kill the tyrant. But Quirico was examining this thesis and as a result he said that those who defended this thesis were wrong, that killing the tyrant would make things worse.”
Giannini also quoted the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, “‘We want to be free because we love freedom.’ “We also love freedom, and we will continue to defend freedom despite all threats and intimidation because we know we are on the right side of history.”
After Russia’s accusation, messages of solidarity with La Stampa newspaper came from the press and politics in Italy.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi said, “I want to give a message of solidarity to all the journalists of La Stampa and its director, Giannini. Freedom of the press is guaranteed by the constitution in us.”
Draghi also reacted, “It is not surprising that the Russian ambassador is so angry at an Italian newspaper, after all, he is the ambassador of a country that does not have freedom of the press. We have freedom of the press, and the situation is better with us.”
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio also supported the newspaper, saying, “The freedom of the press is inviolable in Italy.”
The centre-left Democratic Party, one of the country’s largest parties, also issued a statement and said, “La Stampa (the press) is free. Just as its manager is free. The entire democratic society is with them against the attacks and intimidation efforts of the Russian ambassador.”
Representatives of many political parties, from the centre-right Let’s Italy to the far-right Brothers of Italy party and the populist 5 Star Movement, also supported La Stampa with messages defending freedom of the press.
Senator Giovanbattista Fazzolari from the Brothers of Italy party said: “In Putin’s Russia, disturbing journalists are imprisoned or killed, unsavory media outlets are forcibly closed. The Russian regime apparently wants to export this habit, which is normal for it, to Italy.” said.