Overview

• Matteo Salvini testified before a single-judge court in Rome on June 25, recounting how he shook Roberto Saviano’s hand only to be told 'vergognati'.
• Saviano faces defamation charges for tweets and posts in 2018 that labeled Salvini 'ministro della mala vita' and an 'amico della ’ndrangheta'.
• Salvini characterised the posts as unjustified attacks on a public official and pointed to his tenure as interior minister dedicated to fighting the mafia.
• He told the court that, like Saviano, he has lived under police protection for years and does not view it as a privilege.
• The trial underscores Italy’s polarized climate and the growing use of courts by politicians to challenge their critics.