Journalist whacked whilst photographing dilapidations

The son of the former mayor denies being the attacker. Mimmo Rubio handed over the photos to the police.

In Arzano (Naples), in the late morning of January 9^th 2020, while taking photos to document the dilapidation of the town hall, the journalist Mimmo Rubio was physically blocked, insulted and whacked by a man who suddenly approached and acted without saying who he was or why he had intervened. Rubio photographed him as he left then handed over the photos to the police.

Mimmo Rubio was given medical attention in the emergency room of the Arzano hospital and formally reported the attack.

INVESTIGATIONS – Investigations are on-going. The son of the former mayor of Arzano released a statement to deny the rumours that he had been identified as the perpetrator of the attack.

THE PLACE – The Municipality of Arzano has been taken over by central government as the city council has been dissolved on May 20^th, 2020, with a decree of the Council of Ministers due to infiltrations of organized crime being identified.

SOLIDARITY – The journalist has received expressions of solidarity from Italian National Press Federation (FNSI), Sugc (the Campania journalists union) and Unci (the regional federation of Campania).

PREVIOUS INCIDENTS – Mimmo Rubio is the manager of the Arzanonews Facebook page. In Arzano he and the journalist Giuseppe Bianco, with their investigations, helped to turn the spotlight on the shadowy influences that weighed on the administration of the Municipality. For this reason they have been repeatedly threatened. They are, therefore, protected by the police with a surveillance system.

RDM