Italian prosecutors examine prison intimidation and alleged assault in Sigfrido Ranucci bombing case

Prison pressure and reported assault

Investigators in Rome are examining reports of intimidation and physical confrontation inside Rebibbia prison involving suspects tied to the 16 October 2025 bomb attack targeting journalist Sigfrido Ranucci. Details surfaced following a nine-hour interrogation on 27 August 2026 conducted by prosecutor Edoardo De Santis with suspects Pellegrino D'Avino and his father Antonio Passariello. D'Avino told judicial authorities that multiple inmates pressured him to remain silent after television broadcasts publicized his plan to cooperate with prosecutors. He stated that fellow inmates approached him in the courtyard and inside his cell before the hearing, advising him not to give testimony.

D'Avino detailed the encounters during his formal deposition before the magistrate.

During my detention, because my intention to undergo interrogation was reported on several television news broadcasts, during yard time I was approached multiple times by some inmates who, having learned the reasons why I was arrested, invited me not to make statements without explicitly threatening me.

Disputed incident in Rebibbia

During the same deposition, D'Avino stated that he learned from other inmates that Valter Lavitola, the confessed instigator of the bombing, was slapped during yard exercise in the penitentiary. Reports indicated the altercation occurred between 17:00 and 20:00 on 1 September 2026. However, sources from the Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP) stated that no assault against Lavitola was recorded at Rebibbia. Lavitola received a medical examination, and prison authorities reported that he remained out of danger with no signs of physical trauma.

Defense lawyers Sergio Cola and Arturo Cola noted that their client confirmed he felt well, while requesting formal documentation from the prosecutor regarding any penitentiary police reports.

Lavitola's current detention in a high-security section where individuals accused or convicted of mafia crimes are held makes it clear that he is exposed to the same dangers to his safety that would have caused the alleged assault.

Origins of the October bombing

The judicial proceedings stem from the detonation of an explosive device outside the residence of Ranucci, the former presenter of the investigative program Report, in Torvaianica on 16 October 2025. Prosecutors allege that Lavitola's associate, Clesio Gomes Tavares, contacted D'Avino on 10 October 2025 to commission the attack, describing the assignment as a small blast. D'Avino, Passariello, and a third suspect, Saverio Mutone, all linked to petty crime networks in Avellino, were arrested on 30 June 2026 for executing the bombing.

Lavitola was subsequently arrested on 10 August 2026 and confessed to orchestrating the attack. An examining magistrate rejected an application by defense attorney Generoso Pagliarulo to reduce precautionary detention measures for D'Avino and Passariello, ruling D'Avino's claims inconsistent when compared to Passariello's statements.

Upcoming court review and deleted records

Defense attorneys are preparing legal briefs ahead of a 7 September 2026 hearing before the Rome Review Court (Tribunale del Riesame). Lavitola is scheduled to deliver spontaneous statements to clarify unresolved questions regarding his motive for ordering the attack against Ranucci. In parallel, investigators documented that encrypted Signal messaging conversations between Lavitola and Ranucci covering the 2024 to 2025 period were deleted prior to the recent proceedings.