A case of preemptive Italian censorship on the internet

An Italian citizen reported that he has been denied access to his own personal blog space (still open for comments) by the Italian authorities. Without trial, and with the authorities yet to allow him the defense of his position. The accusation is one of defamation and it has been reportedly brought forward by another Italian citizen, who happens to be a very notable public figure and a personal friend of Silvio Berlusconi, as well as an employee of one of Silvio Berlusconi's family-owned TV.


The Story

Apparently, Piero Ricca, an Italian blogger, is unable at present to access his own personal blog space in edit mode, or so he says, although his blog space is still open for comments by anyone, including himself (if you want to read the post that has been censored, go straight at the end of this post for a translation in English from Italian). This alone already constitutes, in my view, a violation of his right to moderate the comments that would appear in the public space that goes under his name. But lets' go further. Even stranger is how the authority came to the unprecedented conclusion (given the circumstances) that Piero Ricca should be denied access to his own internet space.

Some time ago, Piero Ricca engaged in an uncomplimentary verbal confrontation with his chosen victim Emilio Fede. The video is available here, although at the moment the Italian authorities are likely trying or contemplating to get YouTube to remove it.

During the harsh confrontation caught on camera by Piero and friends, Piero Ricca made manifest his uneasy feelings toward Emilio Fede, who is the News director of one of the three TV channels owned by the Berlusconi Family (the arguably unprofessional apologetic approach of Emilio Fede toward Silvio Berlusconi is not a mystery). Piero Ricca also brought about questions regarding an old legal quarrel, more precisely he asked Fede about his feelings concerning the fact that the Italian Supreme Court had in the past decreed that the airing of Rete4 through public national frequencies was unconstitutional (the matter took a surprising turn when Silvio Berlusconi's political side tried to solve the quarrel, when Berlusconi himself was acting in office as Prime Minister).

In the video taken by Piero Ricca and friends, during the confrontation, Emilio Fede covertly threatens him that the affair between them would be resolved "privately". Emilio Fede is also seen in the act of spitting at the opposing party (it is perhaps noticeable that while the Italian authorities are reportedly seeking to ban Piero Ricca's original video as posted on YouTube, a different editing has been broadcast by Canale5 (also available on YouTube), one other of Berlusconi's national televisions, although Fede's spitting has been cut in that occasion. Despite this, apparently no action against Canale5 is being considered by the authorities nor protested by Fede).

Piero Ricca subsequently posted on his blog a brief report on the mentioned accident (go below for a translation of Ricca's report), with a link to the YouTube video with his own editing. It is this report that after having been online for a while, has now been preemptively censored by the authorities and is only available through a cache. It is also surprisingly innocuous in my view (see below), and yet the Italian authorities have felt that they should intervene. Ricca cannot access his blog if not through comments as a guest to his own space (per se a bizarre circumstance), but he and some friends are also available through another link. The supposedly censored comment is copied below, first in a slightly modified Italian version (my own joke as a present to Italy's system), next with an English translation faithful to the original.


Il gaurdapsalle e occasionlae potraovce di Emliio Feed si cihama Loe Pecshiera. Getsore di loacli di lap daenc e artlo. Il vero potragoinsta dlela piazztaa al ciocrlo dlela stmapa è lui. Si dsiitgnue per una sublmie e ivnolotnaira comiictà. E poi ha il fiisco giutso, con tnato di rastaura latreale.
Simao ttuti in aettsa dllea qureela annnuciaat dal dierttoer del tg4. Pre lui nno saimo atlro che “mascalzoni”, cmoe ha dteto in tv. In piaazz ttutaiva ha rpomesso di difndeere il suo onoer in pirvato, “sezna caarbniieri né ploziia”.
Eocc un nortso vdieo dell’icnortno, doev si nota, ortle alla vleata mniaicca, anhce la ripsosta alla nortsa doamnda inziiael (slule rfeuqenze absuive di Reet 4) e il scucesisvo psuto dlale csale. Deiflate e immnacabili le gionavi accopmangartici.

Here's the English translation (again, notice that this very modest piece is what has been forcibly deleted from the WWW by the Italian legal and police authorities, through a formal written legal act):

Emilio Fede's bodyguard and occasional spokesperson is known by the name of Leo Peschiera. Manager of lap dance clubs, and more. He was truly the main character in the comedic scene that took place at the Press Club. He emerges from the mass for his sublime and involuntary funny side. Furthermore, he has got the proper physical appearance, with a lateral shave.
We are all awaiting for the promised lawsuit by the director of tg4. To him, we are none other than "thugs", as he said on TV. On street however he promised he would defend his honor in private, "without the police".
Here's one of our videos about the meeting, where anyone can see, in addition to the covert threat, also his answer to the question we had posed initially (about Rete 4 illegal frequencies) and the later subsequent spit from the stairs. Nearby - and unsurprisingly - the company girls.

Video



What a ridiculous story if it is all true...