The International Press Institute (IPI) today expressed concern over proposed amendments to Italy’s defamation law, the latest of which includes imprisonment as a possible penalty for criminal libel.

Parliament has been considering changes to Italian defamation law since Italy’s highest tribunal last month upheld Il Giornale editor Alessandro Sallusti’s conviction and 14-month prison sentence for libel.

In contrast with past drafts before parliament, news reports said the latest proposal would impose not only fines depending on the gravity of the offence, but prison terms of four months to two years in length as an “ultimate measure” in the event a defendant is found to have committed the same offence three times within a 15-year period.

IPI Deputy Director Anthony Mills said the continued possibility of imprisonment for libel represented a threat to press freedom and was contrary to recommendations put forward by European and international human rights bodies.

“IPI welcomes proposals to abolish prison terms for defamation, but we are adamant that defamation must not remain a criminal offence,” he commented. “The ultimate purpose of defamation laws should be to provide redress to the defamed parties. Criminalising libel is unnecessary and serves only to chill investigative reporting, protect public officials from necessary scrutiny and deny the basic human right of freedom of expression.”

Sallusti, whose case has received widespread media coverage in Italy and abroad, is scheduled to begin serving his sentence on Oct. 26. He was given the sentence in 2011 for the 2007 publication by right-wing daily Libero, which Sallusti edited at the time, of a pseudonymously-penned comment expressing outrage at a Turin judge’s ruling allowing a 13-year-old girl to have an abortion. Renato Farina, a deputy in Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party and a former Libero deputy editor, last month claimed responsibility for the comment. Sallusti was also recently indicted in a second libel case that accused him of defaming a former military prosecutor in Padua.

The situation has provoked harsh criticism from media associations and press freedom watchdogs, which have urged Italian authorities to introduce long-overdue amendments to the country’s defamation law including decriminalisation and the reduction of compensatory fines in civil defamation cases.

After Italy’s highest court upheld Sallusti’s sentence last month, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano announced that he and Justice Minister Paola Severino had agreed on the need to make changes to libel law that would take into account decisions by the European Court of Human Rights. A statement posted on the president’s website noted that such changes could potentially impact Sallusti’s case.

Since then, draft amendments to the defamation law have been proposed before parliament. According to news reports, Lucio Malan, a senator from The People of Freedom party (Il Popolo della Liberta), brought a third draft before the Justice Commission of the Italian Senate on Monday.

Although the draft Malan introduced foresees prison terms, the head of the Justice Commission of the Italian Senate Filippo Berselli, said in an interview published on the Portal of the Senators from the People of Freedom’s party that all parties in Parliament agree that prison terms are not acceptable. However, Berselli said that fines should be raised. He also expressed hope that the new law can be approved fast.

News reports said that the draft amendments under discussion could also affect the Internet. Berselli said yesterday: “[T]he Internet represents a big danger for the protection of dignity of citizens. On the other hand, this is not right that while the press and TV channels have to respect code of conduct, the web is absolutely free. This is a delicate aspect, but there will be actions taken to intervene and introduce discipline also in this sector”.

Media professionals have expressed concern about potential limitations that the proposed amendments could pose. In a statement published on the website of the National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI), General Secretary Franco Siddi said: “We need to be careful: I hope this does not become an opportunity to put new gags, for example on the web….Everyone says ‘no to prison sentence’… but for some reason there is the idea that the press should be punished for being irreverent.”

Mills added: “We urge Italian lawmakers to decriminalize libel and to bring civil defamation law in line with international standards. We are also concerned over potential measures regarding the Internet and we reiterate the need to respect the right to freedom of expression and the free flow of information.”