Disturbing burglary at journalist’s home in Rome

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is counting on the Italian authorities to conduct a swift investigation into a break-in at the home of Paolo Borrometi, an investigative journalist who specializes in covering the mafia.

Documents and a computer hard drive were taken during the burglary of Borrometi’s home in Rome on 20 August. The theft is highly suspicious given his speciality and his circumstances.

The editor of the online newspaper La Spia and a journalist with the Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Borrometi has received many death threats in connection with his reporting and was forced to leave his native Sicily for security reasons in 2015 after a long series of threats and attacks.

He has been under police protection since 2014, when he was the victim of an assault and an arson attack at the entrance to his home. Despite having a police escort, he continues to be the target of frequent intimidation attempts.

RSF regards the situation as very disturbing and expresses its full support for Borrometi. It also urges the authorities to lose no time in finding those responsible for this theft, which has all the hallmarks of another attempt to gag this journalist.

Italy is ranked 52nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index.