The CASE Italia network expresses solidarity with Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon, targets of legal intimidation by the Italian oil industry Eni

The CASE Italia network, the Italian working group against vexatious legal actions, supported by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), stands strong in solidarity with the environmental NGOs Greenpeace Italia and ReCommon. We firmly condemn the possibility of a defamation civil lawsuit  which will likely follow the legal mediation attempt initiated  by the oil giant Eni on July 26, and rejected by the NGOs as a form of legal pressure affecting freedom of expression.

The warning about a possible claim for damage compensation came just a few weeks after the launch of the “La giusta causa ” campaign on 9 May 2023, through which Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon sued Eni for “the suffered and future damages, resulting from climate change, to which Eni has contributed with its conduct over the past decades, by continuing to invest in fossil fuels”, its first hearing being scheduled for February, 16, 2024.

The CASE Italia network denounces Eni's legal action as an unjustified act of intimidation against Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon, whose work is dedicated to major questions of public interest, such as climate change. They conduct such activities through solid research, investigations and awareness-raising campaigns.

Eni is not the only actor to have employed SLAPP strategies. In 2022, 161 vexatious lawsuits were filed in Europe. Italy has the highest incidence of vexatious lawsuits, accounting for 25.5% of the total cases analysed in the last year, according to a study by the European Parliament . 

In recent years, Eni has become a serial SLAPP plaintiff targeting journalists, activists, whistleblowers and witnesses in court. This trend, which includes, among others, legal actions against the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano , Rai and Report , as well as legal threats against the newspaper Domani , is worrying.

Eni's legal intimidation against Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon reflects the strategies routinely used by SLAPPs plaintiffs, whose main objective is intimidating, draining resources and chilling critical voices. Our organizations condemn Eni’s legal pressure as an unjustified act of intimidation and calling for the dropping of ENI’s  legal threats, while also avoiding future harassment tactics. 

We also call on the Italian Parliament to adopt a law to protect journalists, activists, whistleblowers and citizens from SLAPPs, guaranteeing freedom of expression and public participation in the democratic life of the country.

Signed

For CASE Italia:

Amnesty International Italia 

ARTICLE 19 Europe

Articolo 21

Environmental Paper Network

OBC Transeuropa (OBCT) 

Rete No Bavaglio 

The Good Lobby Italia

Other signatories:

Legal Human Academy

Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation- ACT

Frente Cívica, Portugal

Civic Initiatives

Xnet, Institute for Democratic Digitalisation

Corporate Europe Observatory

Transnational Institute (TNI)

Agent Green Association 

Corporate Europe Observatory

Centrum pro Média, Ekologii a Demokracii, CZ

Deník Referendum CZ

LobbyControl

Observatoire des multinationales

Novact, International Institute for Nonviolence

Suds - Associació internacional de solidaritat i cooperació

MultiWatch, Switzerland

Observatori del Deute en la Globalització, Catalunya