Marco Benanti did not defame Montante who had asked for 100,000 euro damages

The court rejected the demand of the former president of the Sicilian chapter of Confindustria ordering him to pay the legal expenses of the journalist

The civil court of Catania rejected the request for damages of 100,000 euro for defamation by the journalist Marco Benanti submitted by the former president of the Sicilian chapter of Confindustria, Antonello Montante. The demand had been made on the 15th May 2018. The previous day, Montante had been arrested with the charge of “criminal association aimed at the corruption of members of the police”. The lawsuit for damages from Benanti related to several articles published in the online newspaper Le Iene Sicule on the so-called “false antimafia” and on the relationships of Montante with the politicians Rosario Crocetta and Giuseppe Lumia. The court ordered Montante to pay the legal costs. Ansa and Sudpress reported it on the 16th May 2018.

The Sicilian Reporters Union expressed satisfaction with the sentence.

DB (wt)