Viterbo: Reporter and two trade unionists attacked

Daniele Camilli (Tusciaweb) was leafleting migrant workers.

On the evening of January 24^th 2020, in the countryside around Castel d’Asso (Viterbo), the Tusciaweb journalist, Daniele Camilli, was verbally insulted by some people who ordered him to leave and to delete the photos he had just taken. The threats were also addressed to the two CGIL trade unionists who were with him and who together with him distributed leaflets to the mostly foreign migrant farm labourers to inform them of their rights. The attackers appeared to be the owners of the agricultural land. They were identified by the special branch police (Digos) who were present to ensure public order.

The remarks to the journalist became more threatening when he identified himself as a journalist and was recognized as the author of articles on the exploitation of foreign workers in that area.

According to the reconstruction provided by the journalist himself (read here), the attackers arrived with their cars while the trade unionists were distributing the flyers. “This is private property. You have to go away. Get back to work,” they said. The special branch police asked the trade unionists and the reporter to leave and stay on the nearby public road. They also identified the attackers.

When Daniele Camilli identified himself as a journalist, the reaction was even more violent: “It’s exactly you”, those men shouted, accusing him of writing nonsense. It appears that the Viterbo police headquarters sent the report to the public prosecutor’s office. In the following days, the Provincial Committee for Public Order and Security of the Prefecture of Viterbo interviewed the journalist and the two trade unionists to obtain their version of the events.

COA