'Shame on you': Saviano against Salvini in the courtroom at the libel trial

New hearing of the defamation trial against the writer Roberto Saviano at the monocratic Court of Rome. The writer is accused for some statements published on social media in 2018 in which he called Matteo Salvini, then Minister of the Interior,"minister of the underworld". Expressions that, according to the prosecution, harmed the reputation of the League leader, who has joined the civil action. "I found that post offensive, both as a citizen, as a party secretary, and as a minister," said Salvini, responding to questions from deputy prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco. "I am used to political criticism, but to say that I was a 'friend of the 'ndrangheta' or a 'minister of bad life' is not acceptable. Those words alluded to a contiguity with organised crime that horrifies me'.

The post in question dates back to June 2018, a few days after the Lega-M5S government took office, and was widely shared, given Saviano's huge social following. "I re-read those posts," Salvini added, "and I still consider them heavy and unfounded. My priority as minister has always been the fight against the mafia'. On the issue of the escort, repeatedly at the centre of controversy between the two, Salvini clarified: 'I have also lived under escort for years, like the defendant. I have never done anything to harm Saviano in this respect'. Finally, Salvini confirmed that he had no intention of withdrawing the lawsuit: 'I want to go all the way. Freedom of expression cannot become freedom of defamation'. The trial will continue in the coming weeks with new testimonies and the possible hearing of Saviano himself.

"I shook Saviano's hand in the courtroom and he said 'shame on you'. He is rude, but it is certainly not a crime'. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini on the sidelines of the hearing in the trial in which writer Roberto Saviano is accused of defamation. Salvini sued the author of Gomorrah for some posts published in 2018 in one of which he called him "the minister of bad life". "I don't hold it against him. If someone calls me a mafioso or a friend of the 'ndrangheta it is not normal: it is not normal for a minister, for a father, for a citizen. We have fought the clans,' he added.

"I would reuse the expression 'minister of the underworld' which is Gaetano Salvemini's: I believe I have every right to use this paradigm to criticise Matteo Salvini". Thus the writer Roberto Saviano at the end of the hearing in the trial before the Court of Rome in which he is accused of defamation for some posts on social networks. The posts, the subject of the indictment in which he is accused of having offended the reputation of the Leghist leader, date back to June 2018 and in one Salvini, now a civil party in the proceedings, was described as a minister of 'mala vita'. "It was an important day because finally Matteo Salvini after years came to give testimony. He shocked me because he did not remember, he omitted: he stammered something about the escort, which for him was a political assessment. The absurd thing is that the figure of a politician who does and says things without thinking emerged,' Saviano stressed. The next hearing is scheduled for November.