Lirio Abbate
Encyclopedia
Lirio Abbate is an Italian journalists and a correspondent in Sicily
for the state news agency ANSA
and La Stampa
newspaper.
He was born in Castelbuono
in the province of Palermo
and started his journalistic career in 1990 at the Giornale di Sicilia
until 1997 when he moved to ANSA. In 1998 he also started to work for La Stampa. In 2003 he was elected journalist of the year by Unione Nazionale Cronisti (Unci). He reported on the Mafia and clandestine immigration on the Sicilian coast. He was the only journalist present at the arrest in April 2006 of the "boss of bosses" of Cosa Nostra, Bernardo Provenzano
, who was jailed after 43 years on the run.
Abbate angered the Mafia
with a book published in 2007 with colleague Peter Gomez called I Complici ("The Accomplices") about links between politicians and Bernardo Provenzano. When over police wiretaps heard mafiosi were heard discussing how to silence Abbate in revenge for his news reports and book, police decided to give him and his wife a police escort.
On the night of September 2, 2007, his police bodyguards surprised two men placing a home-made bomb under his car. This murder attempt came a few days after he had returned to Palermo and after several months of threats following the publication of his book.
Mafia boss Leoluca Bagarella
threatened him publicly during a trial in October 2007. “I have been more worried since this case,” said Abbate. “Bagarella sent a message to his accomplices giving my name in open court. He has been in prison since 1995 and since I work for a news agency, my articles are not by-lined. How did he know that it was me who had written any particular article?”
Despite the threats and police escort Abbate has not left Palermo. "If I left after they put a bomb under my car, I would be setting a bad example to other Sicilians," he said. "This way I am showing that I am not afraid, that the state is protecting me, and that I will carry on."
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
for the state news agency ANSA
ANSA
ANSA may refer to:* ANSA, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs , also sometimes abbreviated NSA*Armed non-state actors, a term used in political science*Ansa *Artists for a new South AfricaTechnology:...
and La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
newspaper.
He was born in Castelbuono
Castelbuono
Castelbuono is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, Sicily . It is especially famous for the castle which its name derives, and around which the city grew up in the 14th century.-History:...
in the province of Palermo
Province of Palermo
The Province of Palermo is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. The Province of Palermo has 82 comuni , 1,239,272 inhabitants, and is 4,992 km² .-External links:...
and started his journalistic career in 1990 at the Giornale di Sicilia
Giornale di Sicilia
Giornale di Sicilia is an Italian daily national newspaper based in Palermo, Sicily. It is also the best-selling newspaper in Sicily.It was founded in 1860, immediately following the Expedition of the Thousand headed by Giuseppe Garibaldi; it was first published on June 7 under the name "Giornale...
until 1997 when he moved to ANSA. In 1998 he also started to work for La Stampa. In 2003 he was elected journalist of the year by Unione Nazionale Cronisti (Unci). He reported on the Mafia and clandestine immigration on the Sicilian coast. He was the only journalist present at the arrest in April 2006 of the "boss of bosses" of Cosa Nostra, Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
, who was jailed after 43 years on the run.
Abbate angered the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
with a book published in 2007 with colleague Peter Gomez called I Complici ("The Accomplices") about links between politicians and Bernardo Provenzano. When over police wiretaps heard mafiosi were heard discussing how to silence Abbate in revenge for his news reports and book, police decided to give him and his wife a police escort.
On the night of September 2, 2007, his police bodyguards surprised two men placing a home-made bomb under his car. This murder attempt came a few days after he had returned to Palermo and after several months of threats following the publication of his book.
Mafia boss Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
threatened him publicly during a trial in October 2007. “I have been more worried since this case,” said Abbate. “Bagarella sent a message to his accomplices giving my name in open court. He has been in prison since 1995 and since I work for a news agency, my articles are not by-lined. How did he know that it was me who had written any particular article?”
Despite the threats and police escort Abbate has not left Palermo. "If I left after they put a bomb under my car, I would be setting a bad example to other Sicilians," he said. "This way I am showing that I am not afraid, that the state is protecting me, and that I will carry on."