First the investigation into the expenses of the military prosecutor's office in Moscow, then that of the prosecutors of Piazzale Clodio for incitement to hatred for the sentences contained in the book and now eleven months of suspension from service for the Army general, Roberto Vannacci, with salary halving and seniority deduction.
The disciplinary measure was ordered by the Ministry of Defense after an investigation carried out on the statements contained in the book, which became an editorial case, "The world upside down".
A measure, the latter, which triggered yet another angry reaction from Matteo Salvini and a violent back and forth between the leader of the League, as well as Minister of Infrastructure, and the head of the Defense Department, Guido Crosetto.
The number one of the Northern League did not mince his words, stating that "we are ridiculous" with "one investigation a day: how scared is the general? Long live freedom of thought and speech, long live the Armed Forces and the Police Forces ".
Words to which Crosetto responds by explaining that the decision taken by the ministry is the result of a procedure that started "months ago".
An activity that occurs "automatically - states the Minister of Defense - and which is totally external to the input of the political authority because it starts from a technical authority. As far as I'm concerned, I'll soon run out of cheeks to turn".
The formal disciplinary investigation, ordered by Minister Crosetto last December 1st, ended on February 15th and the suspension was then notified on the 27th: "a report established the validity of the charges - they explain from Via XX Settembre - and was sent to the minister who, after further scrutiny by his staff, based on what was established by the regulatory framework, decreed the sanction of the soldier".
Sanctions which, it is added, "do not compromise in any way the civil and political rights of the sanctioned soldier, including any candidacy for electoral consultations of any kind".
The provision makes direct reference to the circumstances that led the general to publish the volume.
An initiative which, according to the Defense, denoted a "lack of sense of responsibility" and determined an "injury to the principle of neutrality/third party of the Armed Forces" leading to "compromising the prestige and reputation of the Administration to which it belongs and generating possible effects disruptive and divisive emulations within the military team".
For his part, the general continues by stating that he will continue to "move forward and demand freedom of expression".
As for the possible 'taking to the field' in the ranks of the League, however, it still remains vague, adding that "in eleven months there is time to reflect on many things and also on that of the invitation to candidacy offered by the League which, 'I already said, I'm evaluating. But at the moment I won't release the reservation."
The suspension measure, against which Vannacci will appeal to the TAR, will end up in the investigation documents of the Rome Prosecutor's Office in which the general is under investigation for incitement to racial hatred.
The investigators, coordinated by the deputy prosecutor Erminio Amelio, will also acquire the book which is the subject of the proceedings.
A series of statements in the self-published book ended up under the lens of the investigators and became, in fact, a case, with 200 thousand copies sold.
The complaints refer to some passages in the book and in particular those in which Vannacci defines homosexuals as "non-normal" or when he cites an episode he experienced in Paris in which he refers to people of colour.
The legal aftermath linked to the book that made him famous is not the only one that Vannacci will have to deal with.
The military and ordinary prosecutors turned a spotlight on his alleged 'crazy spending' made when he was the Italian military attaché in Moscow.
The investigation concerns the service allowance for family members received illicitly (because his wife and daughters would not have been in Moscow in the period considered), an expense of 9 thousand euros linked to the company car which would not have been authorised, reimbursements for the organization of events and dinners that in reality would not have taken place.
The period examined by the ministerial inspectors is between February 2021 and May 2022.
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