The ANM’s complaint: threats against magistrates following the Roggero ruling

Magistrates insulted and threatened simply for enforcing a law of the State. The complaint regarding the hostile atmosphere towards the judiciary comes from the Central Executive Committee of the National Magistrates’ Association. “Following the ruling in the Roggero case magistrates have received threats, insults and hate messages in a climate where they are being attacked simply for having applied the law of the State on murder and self-defence. ‘We stand alongside our colleagues in Piedmont who handed down the first- and second-instance judgements, as well as those at the Court of Cassation who upheld them,’ states the ANM.

‘We reiterate that those who hold public office should exercise greater responsibility and care in their choice of words. The atmosphere created towards those who enforce the law should be different. Criticism is legitimate, but fuelling a narrative that identifies magistrates as targets to be attacked means contributing to a climate that can degenerate into hatred and intimidation. This climate of severe delegitimisation has also been highlighted in the recent report by the European Commission. We hope that, in future, greater attention will be paid to safeguarding the very foundations of the rule of law.” A climate of hatred that erupted following the Court of Cassation’s final conviction of the jeweller from Grinzane Cavour to 14 years and 9 months for killing two robbers and wounding a third.