The judge for preliminary investigations of the court of Lucca has decided to dismiss the defamation charge for which General Roberto Vannacci was under investigation. To sue him andIt was the national volleyball player Paola Egonu.
The dismissal was ordered by the investigating judge Alessandro Dal Torrione, who thus accepted the request of the Lucca prosecutor’s office. The champion’s complaint against the soldier, newly elected to the European Parliament as an independent on the Carrccio lists, came after the general’s first book, «The world upside down», wrote: «Even if Paola Egonu is Italian by citizenship, it is clear that his somatic features do not represent Italianness…”.
Vannacci’s letter and the judge’s decision
Egonu had denounced Vannacci in Bergamo, with the practice passed for territorial jurisdiction to Lucca, the territory in which Vannacci resides. The prosecutor had asked for the case to be dismissed, but the volleyball player had opposed it. At the hearing two days ago it was brought forward an attempted mediation between the parties: a hearing at which Vannacci was also present, who has always rejected the accusations. However, no agreement was reached.
Last May the general also wrote a letter to Egonu, trying to give an “authentic” interpretation of the words and expressions I used towards him, he explained. The soldier then explained that he had never had any doubts about the volleyball player’s Italian citizenship and that he was «personally and continually proud that she represents our flag, with her sporting excellence. But this cannot visually conceal her origin, of which I am convinced she is proud.”
The motivations
The same judge, in the dismissal order, ruled «the phrase used (from Vannucci in his book, ed.) inappropriate and improper”however, we read in the second part of the document «there does not appear to be any exceeding of the limit of continence which can be said to be indicative, on the part of the suspect, of the desire to gratuitously offend the reputation of the offended person”.
«Unexpectedly archived, we will evaluate other actions. Unacceptable decision”. These are the words of Paola Egonu’s lawyer, Simone Facchinetti, when faced with the decision of the investigating judge of Lucca. The lawyer has not yet had the opportunity to communicate the order to his client, who is busy abroad with the Italian national team.
