GAETA— An ‘unknown’ person set fire to the vehicle of the lawyer of La Repubblica reporter, Federica Angeli, just hours after the pair had met in the seaside town of Gaeta.

 Angeli, 41, has long been the target of such attacks due to her role in exposing the influence of the Mafia on the Roman coastline, especially in the neighbourhood of Ostia.

 This most recent attack on her lawyer’s vehicle comes just days after her sister’s car suffered a similar fate.

 The gravity of the situation has prompted the Italian National Press Federation to release a statement highlighting that such warnings “should not be underestimated.”

 “It’s now up to the investigators to carry out the most recent inquiries, but there is no doubt that we are in the presence of warnings that should not be underestimated, because they are repeated and accompanied by constant threats and insults also on social media,” read the statement released by the Secretary General and President of Fnsi, Raffaele Lorusso and Giuseppe Giuletti.

 “The Italian National Press Federation believes that these incidents should persuade the accountable authorities to be on high alert and reflect on the adequacy of the surveillance measures in place to ensure the protection of our colleague,” the statement continued.

 “In the next few hours we request a meeting with the Interior Minister, not only to evaluate the situation of Federica Angeli but also of all the threatened journalists.”

 Threats against Angeli date back to 2013, when the reporter first published her investigative report on the influence of an organised Mafia group on local politicians in the Ostia area. Since then, the journalist has received numerous death threats, in addition to similar attacks on those close to her, such as family relatives and friends.

Fnsi also announced that in light of the upcoming International Freedom of Press Day on May 3, that their initiatives will include stories of journalists who have been threatened as a result of their work. They will collect testimonies and personal accounts that are submitted to the ministry.

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