Rome labour court rejects Sigfrido Ranucci's appeal to return to Rai's Report

The ruling

The Labour Court of Rome has rejected the urgent appeal filed by Sigfrido Ranucci, who sought reinstatement as host of Report, the Rai 3 investigative programme. Judge Donatella Casari ruled about 14 days after the hearing, and the order runs to more than 30 pages. Rai removed Ranucci from the presenter's chair and from the role of chief author on 28 August. Before going to court, Ranucci had rejected three options the broadcaster offered him: deputy editor at Tg3 or Rainews, or the correspondent's office in Cairo. Fanpage reported that there is no longer time to restore him to the programme before its return on 8 November.

The judge's reasoning

The order says Rai's decision to reorganize the newsroom, with a change of author and host, appears on a summary examination to be separate from the disciplinary case against Ranucci. Judge Casari wrote:

The decision by Rai to proceed with a reorganization of the editorial staff, with a change of author and host, appears, on a summary examination and on the points raised, detached from the parallel disciplinary matter and adopted as a means of resolving the internal tension that had arisen among the members of the editorial staff, and as such a tool for protecting the serene working of the staff in compliance with the law.

The order records that the media attention on the attack investigation had created tension in the newsroom, and that several editors had voiced their discomfort to Ranucci and, bypassing him, to his superior. Rai's stated motivation was the malaise inside the Report newsroom caused by the media clamour around the attack inquiry. Ranucci's lawyers had argued that the removal was unsupported by concrete facts and reflected political discrimination, a claim the judge did not accept.

The attack and the suspension

In October 2025 a bomb went off in front of Ranucci's home in Campo Ascolano, Pomezia. According to Rome prosecutors, the attack was wanted by Valter Lavitola, described as Ranucci's close friend, and Rai News says Lavitola has confessed to being its instigator. Prosecutors are still deciding when to summon Ranucci as a person informed of the facts. On Monday 5 October, Rai announced a 10-day suspension from service and pay for Ranucci, citing company emails forwarded to Lavitola and the denigration of some colleagues. Speaking at the event Censura di Stato, organized by AntimafiaDuemila at the Teatro Italia in Rome, Ranucci responded:

All the battles I have fought in my life, which have brought me 247 lawsuits, a bomb, a suspension and a cut to my salary, find their reward only in the affection of the people. You all saw it: for me it means I did the right thing, and that is enough for me.

Reactions

Ranucci said he respects the ruling, while still criticizing it in a veiled way. He told ANSA:

That I respect the judge's ruling is obvious: I have always fought for the independence of the judiciary, and fighting for a value like that does not mean taking off your shirt when it suits you and putting it back on when needed. So we take note: it is a decision that embraced the idea that media clamour can lead to replacing a presenter with an editorial team that has been under pressure, and that, as a consequence, there is no proof that Rai executives were directly influenced by politics. I accept this ruling serenely.

His lawyers, Franco Focareta, Franco Scarpelli, Stefano Rossi and Roberto De Vita, said they take note of the decision but do not share it, and that the case raises central questions about organizational power, professional autonomy and freedom of information in public service. They will evaluate the ruling and further steps in the appropriate venues. De Vita had earlier said the appeal asked the court to declare the measure unlawful and order Ranucci's immediate reinstatement. Corsini, Rai's director of current affairs, had reportedly hoped for a negative decision in the hours before the ruling.

What happens next

Ranucci will not return to Report for now. AGI reports that the programme's new season starts on 8 November, with Claudia Di Pasquale and Daniele Piervincenzi as hosts. The proceedings on the merits continue, and Ranucci's lawyers may challenge the order.