First the warning, now the conviction.
The journalist and television presenter Maurizio Costanzo – accused of aggravated defamation against the judge for preliminary investigations of Rimini Vinicio Cantarin – was sentenced to one year in prison , with the suspension of the sentence subject to the payment of 40 thousand euros as compensation for damages to the party offense.
The indicted facts date back to 2017 . In an episode of the Maurizio Costanzo show, the anchorman had indulged in comments - deemed offensive - on the work of the judge in reference to a precautionary measure issued against Edson Tavares, the man who slashed the ex-girlfriend Gessica Notaro.
The investigating judge had ordered a ban on approaching the woman - with a precautionary measure which however concerned episodes of stalking prior to the disfigurement - while the prosecutor had requested house arrest . «I want to congratulate the investigating judge – said the journalist on television -. I say to the CSM, to the Superior Council of the Judiciary: give my compliments to this investigating judge who decided this".
«I do not comment on the sentences, they speak for themselves. All I know is that I defended a young woman who was scarred and who lost an eye as a result» confesses the journalist in an interview with Corriere della Sera. Costanzo's defense argued that there was no defamatory intention and will now be able to appeal.
(Unioneonline/vf)
