Valter Lavitola challenges custody order in Sigfrido Ranucci attack case

Review hearing at Piazzale Clodio

Judges at the review court in Rome convened on the morning of 7 September 2026 to evaluate the precautionary detention of former publisher Valter Lavitola. Lavitola attended the judicial session via a live video connection established from Rebibbia prison in Rome, where he remains held in custody. Defense attorneys Sergio Cola and Arturo Cola presented themselves at the Piazzale Clodio judicial complex to represent Lavitola before the review panel, known formally as the Tribunale della Liberta. Upon entering the courthouse, the defense team stated that Lavitola would use the video link to deliver spontaneous oral statements directly to the panel of judges.

To support their challenge to the detention order, the legal team submitted a formal 72-page defense brief to the judges on 6 September 2026. The defense confirmed that the contents of this 72-page document would dictate the structure and substance of their oral intervention before the court.

Three legal challenges presented by the defense

The defense strategy focuses on three specific questions of law presented to the review panel. Sergio Cola explained that the primary issue is establishing the legal ineffectiveness of the precautionary custody order currently keeping Lavitola in prison. According to the defense, the statutory time limits governing the custody order have expired, and the standard legal requirements justifying continued detention no longer apply to their client.

Sergio Cola summarized the legal stance of the defense before entering the judicial chambers.

“Today, during the review hearing, we will demonstrate that precautionary requirements no longer exist and that time limits have expired. Furthermore, the accusatory hypothesis of the Rome prosecutor's office, as conceived, cannot stand, nor can the territorial jurisdiction.”

Beyond the custody terms, the defense is formally disputing the territorial jurisdiction of the Rome judicial district. The legal team contends that jurisdiction over the matter is not rooted in Rome and should be assigned to a different court. In addition, the defense is challenging the application of the mafia method aggravating circumstance, arguing that the legal characterization presented by the Rome prosecutor cannot stand.

The October 2025 attack on Sigfrido Ranucci

The review proceedings arise from the criminal investigation into the attack against Sigfrido Ranucci, the investigative journalist who hosts the television program Report. The attack against Ranucci occurred in October 2025 in the municipality of Pomezia, located within the province of Rome. Prosecutors identify Lavitola as the instigator who ordered the attack against the reporter.

During the morning session on 7 September 2026, the Rome prosecutor's office prepared to deposit additional case documents with the judicial panel. Sergio Cola noted that the defense had not received advance copies or prior knowledge of the content of these newly filed prosecutorial records. The defense counsel affirmed that the legal team would examine the newly introduced prosecution materials in detail and address each document thoroughly during their oral submissions before the review judges conclude the session.