Marco Travaglio and Selvaggia Lucarelli will have to compensate psychologist Claudio Foti - definitively acquitted in the Bibbiano case - with 65 thousand euros, to which an additional 15 thousand will be added for Lucarelli alone. This was decided by the Civil Court of Turin in the context of the defamation proceedings for a series of articles published in Il Fatto Quotidiano between July 2019 and October 2020. Articles in which the professional appeared "guilty of facts of which he is totally extraneous" - the sentence reads -, being indicated in particular as the author of a "method" that would have led to the suicide of Agnese Usai, the caretaker from Cagliari investigated for abuse. Lucarelli would then have spoken of Foti as the person responsible for false abuse and manipulation of trials and minors.
"The conviction - comments the defense attorney Luca Bauccio - is an act of justice and a victory of civilization: information cannot be transformed into pillory and the right to criticize cannot become a pretext to persecute someone who is only a suspect, that is, a presumed innocent. Claudio Foti has been transformed into a guilty party and a monster without evidence, for pure speculation. No one - continues the lawyer - should be allowed to set themselves up as a judge of citizens and Lucarelli is not above this rule. Media trials and stonings by the crowd, as happened to Claudio Foti, are not worthy of a civilized country".
A conviction that for the lawyer represents «yet another proof that around Bibbiano many have moved like vultures hunting for advantages of notoriety and votes, from politicians to certain influencers who have access to the most important pages of newspapers without anyone checking and verifying what they write. Information must respect reality and must take on the responsibility of respecting people. It is not enough to be investigated to be transformed into monsters. Up to now, in fact, we have collected acquittals. Selvaggia Lucarelli should take note of this and apologize to Claudio Foti for his merciless pillory. We will move forward so that the truth about those terrible years comes to light completely».
(Online Union)
