Lawsuits. Ossigeno supports journalist’s appeal against criminal decree conviction

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Nazareno Dinoi has received financial support from Ossigeno’s Legal Aid Desk, which operates in collaboration with Media Defence

OSSIGENO, August 4^th  2025 – Ossigeno’s Legal Help Desk has granted a financial contribution to journalist Nazareno Dinoi to help with his legal expenses in challenging a criminal decree for libel, issued following a lawsuit  that the journalist and Ossigeno believe to be unfounded and should be dismissed. The dispute will allow the defendant to defend himself in court and assert his rights. In this article, written for Ossigeno, the journalist recounts his experience, similar to that of many Italian journalists who have been the target of frivolous lawsuits, SLAPPs, and other retaliations for speaking out about taboo topics or revealing troublesome truths.

Ossigeno’s Legal Aid Desk works in collaboration with Media Defence and provides free legal assistance to journalists and bloggers struggling due to spurious lawsuits filed in connection with their work. In nine years, the Legal Aid Desk has assisted one hundred journalists.

Nazareno Dinoi writes:  – It can now be stated clearly: Ossigeno per l’Informazione’s Legal Aid Desk is the only organization providing concrete support in this demanding fight against frivolous lawsuits and the excessive economic power of lobbies and certain political groups. It provides not only essential moral support already crucial in itself, but also concrete financial assistance. For the second time Ossigeno has covered my legal fees; this time in connection with  my thirty-seventh libel lawsuit filed by the powerful figure of the day: the briefcase carrier for the mayor of Manduria, who disapproved of an article of mine exposing him for having been vaccinated against Covid at a time when he was neither old enough nor in a vulnerable profession to receive  the vaccine before others. 

Around that same time, I had also reported that the mayor had been inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine dose claiming to be a school employee when in reality he is an accountant. The mayor did not sue me. His briefcase carrier did, however, and obtained a first “victory” with a criminal conviction against me, which I am fighting, thanks also to Ossigeno’s invaluable help. This support represents a real injection of confidence and energy for journalists who, like me, have no major publishers or other protection behind them but only their own commitment and sense of duty towards  free and independent information. ASP

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Other interventions by Ossigeno’s Legal Help Desk

Manduria. Journalist rejects conviction with criminal decree and goes to trialSSIGENO