The former leader of the
Northern League party, Umberto Bossi, on Tuesday received an
18-month sentence for insulting Italian President Giorgio
Napolitano in 2011.
Bossi's offence was ruled to have been aggravated by a
"racial" slur because the often foul-mouthed veteran firebrand
called the Naples-born Neapolitano a "terrone", northern Italian
epithet for "dirty southerner".
On December 29, 2011, Bossi made a rally laugh when he sent
a sarcastic greeting to the Neapolitan head of State, using the
Latin tag "nomen omen" ("it's all in the name") to criticise his
provenance from the troubled southern city.
"I didn't know he was a 'terrone'," he added to further
chuckles.
Bossi, who stepped down as leader of the movement he
founded after a string of corruption and nepotism scandals in
2012, was also charged with trying to bring Italy's institutions
into disrepute.
Sentences under two years are not served custodially
according to Italy's legal system.
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