Our Victories in Italy
Director of Al-Haq Shawan Jabarin held Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera accountable for defaming him
Italian newspaper Il Corriere Della Sera has paid 15,000 euros in damages to Shawan Jabarin, General Director of Al-Haq, for falsely accusing him of being a terrorist in 2021, an unfounded allegation based on Israeli propaganda and smear campaigns. In December 2021, MP Laura Boldrini invited Al-Haq and Addameer representatives to a hearing in the Italian Parliament. Following this, newspapers Il Corriere della Sera, Libero Quotidiano, and Il Tempo published defamatory articles against Al-Haq and Jabarin, omitting essential context on Israel’s targeted designation of six Palestinian civil society organisations as ‘terror organisation’, a tactic Israel frequently uses to criminalise, silence, and oppress Palestinian activists, and infringing on readers’ right to impartial information. After Al-Haq pushed back and after we reached out to Italian lawyers in our network, in 2024, Il Corriere Della Sera was summoned to Court. The newspaper then accepted a settlement agreement, which included compensating Shawan Jabarin for ‘reputational’ damage suffered and publishing an article retracting the defamatory claims. This legal battle aims to hold media outlets accountable and to support Palestinian voices. Read more
Students Activists Gets the University of Milan to Cut Ties with University in Israeli Settlement.
In March 2024The University of Milan ceased its cooperation with the University of Ariel, located in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, marking a victory for the ‘Students against Apartheid’ campaign launched by Giovani Palestinesi d’Italia. The ELSC provided legal advice to the movement and actively participated in the negotiation with the University, which was cooperating with Ariel University in breach of EU and international law. Read more
Second victory in court for the freedom of expression of activist Karem Rohana, sued by anti-Palestinian editor in chief of “La Repubblica”
For months, Maurizio Molinari – editor in chief of one of the most important Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” has filed two appeals against the Italian-Palestinian influencer and activist Karem Rohana, claiming that his activities on social media have harmed his reputation. After a first victory in March 2024, a court in Milan rejected the second appeal in June 2024, recognising that Karem Rohana’s expressions are part of the legitimate right of criticism and do not exceed the limits of freedom of expression. This decision once again confirms Karem Rohana’s freedom of expression and underlines how the misuse of legal action can be an attempt at censorship by people in positions of power. Read more
Court upholds the right of Italian-Palestinian activist to criticize and denounce the genocide .
Italian-Palestinian activist Karem Rohana has been under attack by Italian institutions, including the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “La Repubblica” and the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, for his reporting on the Palestinian situation and the denunciation of the ongoing genocide. This has caused controversy in the Italian political scene, highlighting the biased, if not racist, nature of the mainstream media and political narratives related to Palestine Palestine. Karem suffered physical attacks and accusations of damaging the reputation of Italian individuals supporting Israel’s settler-colonialism, but he fought back and a court in Milan upheld the legitimacy of his opinions, recognising the right to criticism and recalling the recent decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the ongoing genocide. ELSC along with StraLi are providing legal assistance to Karem. Read more
Credit picture: Iman Salem
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