Two journalists attacked by far-right extremists in Rome

Expression

On 7th January 2019, a reporter and a photographer from the Italian weekly magazine L’Espresso were harassed and assaulted by far-right extremists group. The incident occurred in the capital Rome where the two journalists were covering an event commemorating the victims of a deadly 1978 attack on far-right activists.

According to L’Espresso, members of the neo-fascist group Avanguardia Nazionale threatened the photographer Paolo Marchetti while he was documenting the event and demanded that he hand over his camera’s memory card. In addition, reporter Federico Marconi was attacked by another group of Avanguardia Nazionale who assaulted him and kicked him in his legs. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists said:

"Authorities should speak out forcefully against obstruction or intimidation of the media and ensure that journalists can freely and safely cover events of public interest, including gatherings of extremist groups."