Explosion outside of Italian journalist’s house in 'serious act of intimidation'

  ROME – The car of Italian journalist, Sigfrido Ranucci, was blown up outside of his house in the late hours of Thursday evening after a bomb was planted under it, Ranucci reported in a statement on social media.

  The explosion occurred in the late hours of Thursday evening in Campo Ascolano, Rome. Ranucci is best known for his work as a journalist and host of Report on RAI 3, an investigative journalism TV programme which involves investigations into political corruption, corporate crime and organised crime amongst other things.

  Two days before the attack, the journalist had announced the return of Report on Oct 26, with episodes dedicated to examining the use of various government funds, including where funds from the Ministry of Agriculture to finance porcini mushroom festivals end up. Other episodes promise to examine how money from the Banca Progetto allegedly ended up in the hands of the Calabrian mafia, the 'Ndrangheta, before examining the relationship between the 'Ndrangheta and the far right. Further investigations of the mafia and organised crime include examining now deceased Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro's role in Verona and investigations into the "battle" being fought by the Anti-mafia commission. 

  In a video uploaded on social media by the Report account, the car was shown burnt out and cars of the family and neighbours were shown damaged. The post said that “the power of the explosion was such that it could have killed anyone who passed by at that moment.”

  Ranucci, speaking to ANSA, said that he had reported the incident to the police, however it would “not [be] easy to trace the source” of the explosive device as he regularly receives threats.

  In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni labelled the explosion as “a serious act of intimidation” and said that “the freedom of independence of information are non-negotiable values of our democracies.” 

  The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi announced that he had given instructions “to strengthen every security measure to the maximum for [Ranucci’s] protection.” Before the explosion, Ranucci already had a police escort. 

  Several associations, including the National Association of Magistrates (ANM) and the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) have expressed their solidarity with Ranucci. ACGOM further labelled the explosion “an attack on journalism”, adding that “attacking the freedom of expression is a vile act of terrorism.”

  The RAI journalists’ trade union, Usigrai, issued a statement on Friday morning expressing their solidarity, saying that the “frightening attack […] takes us back to the darkest years", referencing a period from the 1970s to the 1990s which saw several prominent journalists, as well as magistrates, be killed by the mafia for their investigative work into uncovering the extent of the mafia. They added that “neither Sigfrido nor his colleagues at Report will be intimidated.” The trade union hit out at RAI for cutting down on Report’s time on air and criticised RAI for allowing “the second highest office in the state” to describe Report’s journalists as “serial slanderers” on prime-time television.

  The trade union noted that the presenter and the company did not distance themselves from the statement and instead encouraged a “climate of hatred and intolerance towards the editorial team’s investigations.” Usigrai closed the statement by saying “this hate campaign against investigative journalism must end.”

  Anti-mafia prosecutors are currently investigating the explosion.

 khg