Saviano Tells Salvini ‘Shame on You’ in Courtroom Clash

Rome: Anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano on Wednesday confronted Deputy Premier, Transport Minister, and League party leader Matteo Salvini during a defamation trial. The trial stems from Saviano’s 2018 comments, where he labeled Salvini “the minister of the underworld” due to Salvini’s actions of blocking migrant rescue ships and his threats to strip Saviano of his police escort. This confrontation was reported by Salvini after he shook hands with the left-wing author.

According to Ansa News Agency, Salvini recounted the courtroom exchange, stating, “I shook hands with Saviano in court and he told me ‘shame on you’. He’s rude, but it’s certainly not a crime.” This interaction occurred on the sidelines of the defamation trial taking place in Rome, where Salvini has sued Saviano over his public statements.

The roots of this legal battle trace back to 2018, when Saviano criticized Salvini by calling him “the minister of the underworld.” Salvini retaliated by suing the author of the 2006 expos© “Gomorra” (Gomorrah), a publication that uncovered the operations of the Neapolitan Camorra. Salvini expressed his discontent, saying, “I have nothing against him. If someone calls me a mafioso or a friend of the ‘Ndrangheta, it’s not normal: it’s not normal for a minister, for a father, for a citizen. We fought the clans.”

Saviano, who has been under round-the-clock police protection since the release of “Gomorra,” was critical of Salvini’s remarks about revising his security detail. The book’s revelations led to death threats from the notorious Casalesi clan and was later adapted into a successful film at Cannes in 2008, followed by a hit TV series.

Saviano remains a vocal critic of Salvini, particularly opposing his stringent immigration policies. The anti-mafia author has also been sued for referring to Salvini and Premier Giorgia Meloni as “bastards” over the government’s hard-line approach to migrants.