On 31 July 2024 allegedly law enforcement officers, conducted a search of journalist Simone Innocenti’s residence and the newsroom of media outlet Corriere Fiorentino (https://corrierefiorentino.corriere.it/), local edition of Corriere della Sera (https://www.corriere.it/), where he works at, allegedly seizing computer and a mobile phone. This action was part of an investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Florence (Firenze), Italy, where Innocenti is accused of aiding public officials in the “revelation and use of official secrets.” The investigation centers around an article published on 17 May 2024 which discussed the potential reasons behind the suicide of a student – carabiniere.
On the day of the raid, Innocenti’s residence was searched alongside the Corriere Fiorentino newsroom, where allegedly forensic copies of the journalist’s digital devices were obtained. The investigation is reportedly focused on uncovering leaks related to the tragic suicide of the student – carabiniere. In response, the editorial committee of Corriere della Sera criticized the invasive search and the intimidating behavior of the police, stressing that the confidentiality of journalistic sources is a fundamental principle of the profession.
You can read the published article in the online edition of the newspaper.
La Federazione nazionale della stampa – the National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI) and l’Associazione stampa Toscana – Press Association of Tuscany (AST), in a note, “condemn in no uncertain terms the raid which took place at the headquarters of the Corriere Fiorentino by a magistrate and five policemen who seized the cell phone and computer of the reporter Simone Innocenti whose home was also searched”.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) will be closely monitoring the ongoing investigation involving journalist Simone Innocenti and the recent search of his home and the newsroom of Corriere Fiorentino.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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