Modica, journalists Viviana Sammito and Antonio Di Raimondo acquitted (the fact does not exist) after 11 years –

A story from 2013. Previously the Ragusa Court had acquitted Saro Cannizzaro (Rtm), and dismissed the position of Paolo Borromerti.

The journalist Viviana Sammito and the journalist Antonio Di Raimondo were acquitted by the Court of Appeal of Catania “because the fact does not exist”. Both were accused of aggravated defamation in the press.

Sammito was defended by the criminal lawyer Giuseppe Lipera from Catania, while Di Raimondo was defended by the lawyer Salvatore Guardanella of the Forum of Ragusa. The college of judges also decided to revoke the civil rulings issued in the first instance. Also the Attorney General Dr.. Angelo Busacca had asked for absolution.

A legal case that has dragged on for 11 years due to a news case and which concerned an alleged violence suffered by a 13-year-old on the beach of Marina of Modica the night of San Lorenzo. “A defamation against unknown persons, given that in the article not even the alleged victim was made identifiable” noted the lawyer Lipera who asked for acquittal for his client because the crime does not exist and, alternatively, for not having committed the crime.

The journalist Saro Cannizzaro (Rtm) had previously been involved in the same proceeding, acquitted at first instance, while the position of another journalist, Paolo Borrometi from Modica, had been dismissed by the Court of Ragusa.

The journalist Viviana Sammito, always trusting in the Judiciary (even if in the first instance an Honorary Deputy Prosecutor had asked for 7 months of imprisonment) and sure of her innocence he waived the prescription and made spontaneous statements before the Court. “It’s a victory for all journalists – commented Sammito – who practice this profession with the utmost respect for the facts and human dignity. It was a controversial court case that finally resolved itself the way I thought it would. I dedicate this victory to my family, who has always supported me and in particular to my father, my teacher. And obviously I owe a lot to the lawyer Peppino Lipera, who supported me in this not easy battle.”

For the two journalists from Modica, as the lawyer Lipera says “ it is a right decision. The absolution formula, “because the fact does not exist”, is all too clear and any comment is in vain”.