(reported in the print edition of la Repubblica on February 5th- no online source found as of now)

Assoluzione piena per Alexander Stille nel processo di primo grado che vedeva il docente di giornalismo alla Columbia University, e la Garzanti Libri, accusati di diffamazione da Fedele Confalonieri. Quest´ultimo aveva avviato la causa in relazione a quanto scritto da Stille nel suo "Citizen Berlusconi. Vita e imprese". Il giudice Aurelio Barazzetta ha assolto Stille, difeso da Laura Cavallari e Caterina Malavenda, perché "il fatto non costituisce reato".

Full absolution for Alexander Stille in the lower court trial which had the Columbia University professor of journalism and Garzanti Editions accused of defamation by Fedele Confalonieri. The latter had sued Stille over what he had written in his book "The Sack of Rome." Judge Aurelio Barazzetta ruled that Stille- defended by Laura Cavallari and Caterina Malavenda- was not guilty because "the fact does not constitute a crime."

The case reflects a recurrent aspect of recent political power and it's low-threshold intolerance towards criticism, all the more so if hard facts are reported by a prominent journalist. Richard Perle sued Seymour Hersh in England, Haider regularly took critics to court. Berlusconi and his cohorts routinely take reporters to task through the courts or through daily rants and insults against generic conspiracies of evildoers.

While one may welcome a sentence that almost always reaffirms the rights of a free press, it is deplorable that Italian politicians continue to resort to legal harassment as an arm in the agora. At the same time its comforting to take note of the emotional and civic maturity of the ruling class, certainly not so much over a matter of a misplaced superiority but simply because of the lengths certain individuals will go to cram their overblown self-image down the collective throat. The bottom line is that a bullshit artist remains what he is regardless the format and the billions.

The NYT reported at length on the case last December. An illuminating interview with Alexander Stille may be seen on youtube: