Roberto SAVIANO
Image Credit: International Journalism Festival from Perugia, Italia
Writer, journalist, and PEN award winner Roberto Saviano remained on trial accused of defaming Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, in a speech in which Saviano accused Salvini of ignoring the mafia stranglehold on Italy in favour of stirring up resentment against immigrants. He faced up to three years in prison if convicted. The trial opened on 1 February 2023. In 2018, Salvini had threatened to remove Saviano’s police protection, in place since October 2006 after Saviano received threats from the mafia following the March 2006 publication of his bestseller Gomorrah.
Previously, on 12 October 2023, Saviano was found guilty and fined for defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after he criticised her 2020 speech in which she said that NGO boats attempting to rescue refugees in the central Mediterranean should be seized and sunk, and the migrants on board repatriated. He subsequently decided not to appeal (see Case Lists 2022-2025).
On 14 July 2025, a court in Rome upheld convictions handed down in 2021 against Francesco Bidognetti, a former leader of the Neapolitan Camorra mafia, and his former lawyer Michele Santonastaso. They were sentenced to 18 months and 14 months in prison, respectively, for intimidating Roberto Saviano. The mafia-related threats – read out in court in March 2008 by Santonastaso on behalf of Bidognetti as the latter stood trial – forced Saviano to live under 24-hour protection.
Roberto Saviano, born on 22 September 1979, is the author of Gomorrah, an international bestseller that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Other books include La bellezza e l’inferno (Beauty and the inferno) (2009); Vieni via con me (Come away with me) (2011), ZeroZeroZero (2013), La paranza dei bambini (The children’s boat) (2016), In mare non esistono taxi (There are no taxis at sea) (2019), Gridalo (Shout it) (2020), Solo è il coraggio (Only courage) (2022). He has written several screenplays and theatre scripts and regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines.