• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni filed a defamation case against a historian who called the far-right leader a "neo-Nazi at heart". A court in the country gave its nod to the case, marking another such plea by PM Meloni. The statements were made by 81-year-old leftist scholar Luciano Canfora during a school debate in Bari, southern Italy, in April 2022. This preceded the assumption of office by the Brothers of Italy leader after a significant election victory. The trial will begin on October 7.

Last year, Meloni won a lawsuit against journalist Roberto Saviano, who criticised her anti-migrant stance, resulting in an Italian court issuing him a suspended fine of 1,000 euros. She had also filed a suit against the lead singer of Placebo for labelling her "racist" and "fascist" during a performance in Italy in July 2023.

ALSO READ: Israel Weighs Response To Iran's Missile Attack; War Cabinet Meeting Ends

Meloni had earlier posted a video of Canfora on Facebook. She had said that his ideas were "unacceptable words" and amounted to "vulgar propaganda to young students".

In an interview with AFP before the tribunal hearing in Bari on Tuesday, Canfora, a renowned figure in Italy and a former professor of Greek and Latin philology at the University of Bari, remained steadfast.

"When you say neo-Nazi, you don't think of someone who is perpetrating crimes, or murders, you think of someone who still has some ideas, some mental attitudes that hark back to the past," Canfora said.

ALSO READ: Israel's Air Defence System Thwarted Iran's Biggest Missile Attack With 99% Interception Rate; How Much It Cost | Explained

He pointed out that in her autobiography "I am Giorgia," published in 2021, Meloni has written about embracing the legacy of Italy's post-war far-right figures, such as Giorgio Almirante. Almirante co-founded the now-disbanded Italian Social Movement (MSI), composed of Benito Mussolini's supporters post-World War II. He also held a position within the Italian Social Republic (RSI), a Nazi-controlled puppet state during the war.