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The hearing set for June
The general addresses the champion who, months ago, had sued him for defamation with an open letter. The complaint had been presented in Bergamo which, due to its jurisdiction, had been transferred to Lucca, given that the general resides in Viareggio. The Lucca prosecutor’s office had opened a file and then asked for it to be archived. But Paola Egonu she opposed the closure of the investigation and the investigating judge of the Lucca court has set the hearing for the discussion on June 14th. The complaint alleges, in particular, phrases about “somatic traits” of the athlete contained in Vannacci’s book. “Without any offensive intention, I believe that diversity and differences in religion, culture, origins and ethnicity represent an asset for society and should not be misrepresented with discrimination”.
The general’s apologies
“She, in fact, is very Italian – adds Vannacci -, she is an Italian of whom we are proud: a person who, although of different origins, has chosen to represent our country and to adhere without any reservation to the founding ideals of our Republic becoming its symbol and representative in the competitive world”. “The diversity of her – she observes again – of her, compared to the evident somatic characteristics of the majority of the Italian population, it is a wealth, a resource, a peculiarity that distinguishes it and does it honor. I hope, Mrs. Egonu, to have fully explained the meaning of my expressions and I would be happy if in the future, at your discretion, it were possible a friendly meeting between us that allows me to verbally express my most sincere feelings of warm cordiality and ask you for an autograph”.
The words of the defense
The lawyer Massimiliano Manzo, Vannacci’s lawyer in this proceeding, explains that he “very much appreciated the letter of clarification from my client. I believe that, from a careful reading of his statements, no form of denigrating declaration of superiority of a ethnicity compared to another. My client, in expressing some of his opinions in the well-known book, only wanted to underline some of his ideas, but without ever being offensive, I believe, however, even if he had already explained it several times, that he did well to publicly offer an authentic interpretation of his thoughts.”
