A judge here handed a
suspended sentence of one year to 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader
Beppe Grillo on Monday, for defamation of university professor
Franco Battaglia.
Grillo publicly insulted Battaglia during a speech on
nuclear energy in May 2011 in the town of San Benedetto del
Tronto, over an appearance Battaglia had made on the TV program
Anno Zero.
Referring to Battaglia's comments, Grillo said, "You can't
let an engineer (...) go on television and say, with
nonchalance, that no one died in Chernobyl. I'll kick your ass,
I'll throw you out of television, I'll report you to the police
and send you to jail".
Battaglia testified that his car was also vandalised and he
received a "strange phone call" prior to the act of vandalism.
Grillo was ordered to pay a fine of 1,250 euros, and
Battaglia was awarded compensation of 50,000 euros.
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