Italian fossil fuel giant Eni has pressed charges against Antonio Tricarico of ReCommon in relation to statements he made on the RAI program Report on May 5th, 2024. He is now under investigation by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office on charges of alleged defamation of the company in the press.
Speaking to journalist Daniele Autieri, Tricarico highlighted the timing overlap between Eni receiving the mining license of the giant gas field of Zohr off the Egyptian coast, and the dramatic kidnapping, torture and killing of university researcher Giulio Regeni by security forces in Cairo.
Tricarico made a fact-based assertion. The second Report broadcast on November 17 reiterated that, citing confidential Eni documents that also addressed the timing of the two events.
The charge against Antonio Tricarico, therefore, appears to be the latest in a series of attacks against a strong critical voice that is not afraid to speak uncomfortable truths, such as the tragic Regeni case.
“Eni’s attempt to silence one of Italy’s leading climate activists shows that Big Oil is not only a threat to our climate but also a threat to democracy and free speech. We stand with ReCommon,” says Heffa Schücking, Director of Urgewald.
It is worth remembering that, last October, ReCommon, together with Greenpeace Italia, was sued by Eni before the Civil Court of Rome for waging 'a campaign of hatred' against the company. The two organizations fended off Eni's legal attack and branded it an attempt to shift attention away from the Just Cause climate lawsuit they had brought against the company in May 2023. The Just Cause lawsuit against Eni is now pending before the United Civil Sections of the Court of Cassation.
Moreover, in December 2021, Eni engaged in an 'act of preventive censorship', when it ordered RAI’s Reportnot to interview Antonio Tricarico about the Nigeria-OPL245 affair because he and ReCommon could not be 'worthy interlocutors' of the RAI public service.
"ReCommon expresses its solidarity with Antonio Tricarico and reiterates its firm intention to continue its communication and information campaigns on Italy's leading fossil fuel multinational, exposing its responsibility in the ongoing climate crisis. Instead of trying to limit the freedom of expression of Italian civil society, Eni's top management would do better to withdraw the complaint against Tricarico and instead carefully assess the actions of the company's chief legal counsel (who signed the same criminal complaint against Tricarico) searched and investigated by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office as part of the notorious investigation into espionage and dossier-keeping through illegal access to public databases," declares ReCommon.
