Italian journalists under police protection as threats rise across the country

Whilst out and about in Rome, Nello Trocchia is never alone. For the last few months, this investigative journalist has had police protection. His reporting on the mafia and drug trafficking has resulted in death threats. Ah, cambia tutto, cambia... Everything changes. My living conditions, my everyday life, the way I organize my day, and even, to some extent, the way I go about doing my job as a journalist. I don't know this. Some Mafia members have sworn to shoot him in the mouth. But Nello refuses to be intimidated. Thank you very much. In Rome, no one is supposed to talk about the mafia. It's bad for business. But my job is to investigate criminal power. It's not personal. I have to report the facts. Otherwise, I'd change jobs. That's all. I have the duty to tell, otherwise I would change my profession, period. Journalists also face political pressure. Last year, Sigfrido Ranucci, the presenter of an investigative program on public TV, ...was the victim of a bomb attack. Several months later, he was removed from the programme. A decision, he says, that was politically motivated. In a country where public media is closely tied to the parties in power. Although she was the victim of an attack, Even though I was the victim of an attack, I was treated as if I were responsible for it. And they took advantage of it to remove a journalist who they felt was too independent, troublesome, and who never gave in to censorship or demands to stop investigating above all those in government. The government. Another form of intimidation comes through the courts, known as SLAPs. These are legal proceedings aimed at silencing journalists. Last year, this association recorded nearly 90 journalists who had been targeted in Italy. L'effetto della slap si svolge proprio nel momento in cui The slaps have an insidious effect because the journalist who's targeted with a formal complaint is obliged to spend money to defend themselves, has to stop or tone down his reporting on a particular topic, and is subject to considerable stress over the long term. The government has tabled a bill proposing heavier sanctions for those that attack journalists. It was announced eight months ago, but the bill is still awaiting approval in the Italian