Italy. € 2 million SLAPP. Ossigeno helps environmentalists in Pesaro sued for damages

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Legal Help Desk Contributes to Legal Fees – Sued for critical issues reported at a site for a new LNG plant

OSSIGENO November 27, 2025 – Since 2015, in collaboration with Media Defence. the Ossigeno’s Legal Help Desk helps environmentalists in Pesaro sued for damages.has provided free legal assistance to journalists, bloggers, and activists facing legal challenges due to penal complaints and lawsuits filed on a spurious basis related to their activities (SLAPPs). The Help Desk has now provided a cash contribution (bonus) to help with the legal costs incurred by Roberto Malini and Lisetta Sperindei, two activists for enviroment from Pesaro who are being sued by a company seeking €2 million in damages for their statements highlighting the soil conditions where a new petroleum product degassing plant is planned. In this article, written for Ossigeno, the two environmentalists thank Ossigeno and recount their experience, which appears similar to that of many other Italian journalists, bloggers, and civil rights defenders who report matters of public interest that are inconvenient to others, suffer specious lawsuits, SLAPPs, and other retaliatory actions, and deserve assistance with the costs these proceedings impose, even on those who are not at fault.

by Roberto Malini and Lisetta Sperindei – We are two activists from the “Pesaro: NO GNL” Committee. We thank Ossigeno’s Legal Help Desk for agreeing to provide us with a financial support bonus to cover urgent legal costs arising from a civil defamation lawsuit filed against us by Fox Petroli S.p.A., which is seeking €2 million in damages for alleged defamation damages we allegedly caused with statements we made while carrying out our civic work in defense of the environment.

This is a lawsuit that we believe to be specious, if not reckless—this will be determined by the court we have asked to rule on—one of those legal actions that the new European legislation, not yet implemented in Italy, defines as SLAPPs, legal slaps in the face designed and initiated with the aim of limiting citizens’ legitimate participation in public life. It is recognized as a SLAPP by Ossigeno per l’Informazione and other organizations that defend freedom of expression, including the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), Front Line Defenders, the Protection Hub, OBCT, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.

We have simply made public some true facts of great public interest. We have limited ourselves to doing this, exercising the freedom of expression that every citizen is entitled to. We are certain of this and await the justice system’s recognition.

However, this lawsuit worries us and creates problems for us: it requires us to defend ourselves in court and to incur costs beyond our modest financial means. Fortunately, attorney Pia Perricci has agreed to represent us pro bono. However, legal costs remain, and therefore, Ossigeno’s financial support is essential for us to continue to exercise, peacefully and safely, our right to information and participate in civic life.

Roberto Malini and Lisetta Sperindei

Read other interventions by Ossigeno’s Legal Help Desk