A suspended fine of €800 and court costs were imposed by Nuoro Court Judge Valentina Rosellato against former MP Roberto Capelli, who was found guilty of defamation against Eugenio Zoffili .
According to the reconstruction of the complaint filed by Zoffili, Capelli allegedly offended his reputation through a post published on Facebook on August 26, 2020. In the message, for the initial accusation, referring to the then coordinator of the League in Sardinia, he defined him as "that brain mononuclear patient who they sent to be the proconsul in Sardinia" .
The events date back to the first summer following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, amid heightened political tensions and controversy surrounding the reopening of nightclubs on the island . This decision, supported by then-governor Christian Solinas, fueled public debate due to the subsequent increase in infections. During the trial, Capelli—who chose to submit to examination—argued that the incriminating expression was not directed at Zoffili, but rather at Solinas, referring to him as "Salvini's proconsul in Sardinia." This defense, however, did not convince the judge, despite the prosecutor requesting Capelli's acquittal. The sentence was pronounced today.