Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Mattarella strongly criticize the destruction of the La Stampa newspaper office in Turin. The incident happened during a demonstration against government measures.
The Italian political scene condemned a group of demonstrators who vandalized the main editorial office of the Turin newspaper La Stampa on Friday. The incident was criticized by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Party (PD) Elly Schlein, as well as the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
It is a “very serious act that deserves the strongest condemnation,” Meloni said in her statement on Friday after a phone call with the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Andre Malaguti. At the same time, she stated that “freedom of the press and information is a precious value”.
Mattarella condemned the “violent attack” on Saturday, while Schlein, quoted by La Stampa, called it a “serious and unacceptable act”. The opposition politician emphasized that “every newsroom is a bastion of freedom and democracy.”
The editorial office was empty due to the strike
According to the newspaper’s website, around a hundred people broke away from a demonstration in Turin against the government’s budget plans, then stormed the newspaper’s office. On Friday, however, the newsroom was empty, as there was also a nationwide strike by Italian journalists.
The newspaper said the vandals shouted “Terrorist journalists, you are at the top of the list!” as they burst into the newsroom and tore up valuable books and documents that editors use in their work. Photos show the walls of the newsroom covered in graffiti such as “Free Palestine” and “Newspaper cooperating with Israel.” An AFP reporter also saw them put up a banner referring to the release of a Turin mosque imam who is facing deportation.
