2012 Predators of Press Freedom: Italy - Organized crime
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 4 May 2012 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, 2012 Predators of Press Freedom: Italy - Organized crime , 4 May 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4fa77cdfc.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Italian shopkeepers, business people and judges are not the only victims of organised crime networks such as Cosa Nostra, the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta, and the Sacra Corona Unita. Journalists and writers also find themselves in the line of fire as soon as they try to report on the Italian mafia. There have been hundreds of threats, anonymous letters, slashed tyres and burned cars.
Every journalist writing about these criminal groups has been watched at one time or another. Roberto Saviano, author of the bestseller "Gomorra", an exposé of the Camorra, is forced to live under round-the-clock police protection, as are dozens of other journalists. Giovanni Tizian, who has carried out detailed research on the 'Ndrangheta, was also placed under police protection in January this year after receiving threats.
Lirio Abbate, correspondent in Palermo for the news agency Ansa and author of "I Complici" (The Accomplices) also lives under police protection, as does (since March 2008) Rosaria Capacchione, who has covered the Camorra for the main Naples daily Il Mattino for more than 20 years. She and Saviano are both hunted by the Casalesi clan.
