Reporter and crew attacked three times in few months near Naples while filming

With the film crew of the satirical news programme of Canale5 he was documenting illegal trafficking, scams, degradation, delinquency and organized criminality – Abete says: we have stopped formally reporting them

OSSIGENO 20 April 2022 – Between November 2021 and February 2022 Luca Abete and his crew were attacked, insulted and beaten on three different occasions, but always in the same area, the hinterland of Naples. The prominent correspondent of ‘Striscia la Notizie’, the satirical news programme of Mediaset, often produces reports from these peripheral areas, where social unrest, the art of getting by and delinquency are fertile ground for the activities of organized crime, as evidenced by the intimidation against journalists reported elsewhere by Ossigeno (read here). The attacks took place in San Giovanni a Teduccio, Pollena Trocchia and Caivano (on the edge of Naples) by a car dealer, an LPG distributor and a black-market dealer of spare car parts. In no case did Luca Abete make a formal complaint to the authorities because, he tells Ossigeno, “too many times they have fallen on deaf ears”.

THE ATTACKS – On November 19^th 2021 in San Giovanni a Teduccio, the owner of a car dealership and his son insulted, threatened and roughly pushed away the journalist and the cameraman who accompanied him, while they were making a report on a series of car rackets probably linked to organized crime. Luca Abete had introduced himself asking for an interview about the rumours and accusations circulating about the man. When the latter threatened him Abete tried to resist, but the son intervened to support his father and whilst lambasting the cameraman tried to attack him who fled chased by the young man (see here).

On January 31^st 2022, another attack at Pollena Trocchia. After receiving various reports, the journalist went to check a LPG distributor where at the request of customers they filled gas cylinders, a dangerous practice and prohibited by law due to the risk of explosions. Perhaps warned by someone of the presence of the camera, a man arrived in a car and tried to run over the cameraman, then got out and rushed at Luca Abete, insulting him, pushing him and breaking the microphone (video here).

Finally, in Caivano on the 14^th February 2022, a second-hand car dealer  subject to seizure for illegal trading aimed at the resale of spare parts for the black market, attacked the reporter from ‘Striscia la Notizia’ and his cameraman. Aided by his mother, he hit Abete with kicks, slaps and shoves, while insulting and threatening him (see here). The accident and emergency department estimated five days of recovery for Luca Abete whose equipment was also damaged

THE CORRESPONDENT – “For the 33 years of ‘Striscia la Notizie’, of which I am a veteran, the Mediaset press office in November 2021 prepared statistics of the incidents of aggression and intimidation suffered by the correspondents (read here). A bit like you do at Ossigeno “, – Luca Abete tells us. “In this special ‘ranking’ I am the record holder of ‘hits ‘, in terms of number of attacks and days of recovery estimated by emergency departments. I was even attacked ‘off duty’, while I was eating a pizza with friends. I also once took issue with the police, who did not want me to ask the Minister of Education Stefania Giannini questions (see here Ossigeno). Threats and insults via social media are also on the agenda. By now we don’t even make a formal complaint anymore unless the equipment is damaged and in that case Mediaset acts, because too many times our complaints have remained a dead letter. But we do not give up; with our coverage we make waves. Millions of viewers see us; we give a voice to citizens in search of justice and after our investigations prosecutors often take action. It is worth continuing to denounce malfeasance, even at the cost of the blows “.

SOLIDARITY – Ossigeno expresses solidarity with the correspondent of ‘Striscia la Notizia’ and its crew, who work in difficult situations where it is not uncommon to be verbally and physically attacked. The incidents should always be reported to the police, even when justice and punishment of those responsible seem a distant goal because they have to wait years. Ossigeno believes that the formal complaint must be public, publicised by the media and carry criminal consequences, to give a clear signal and also to help, by example, other colleagues who are threatened, attacked or intimidated. LT