Italian Journalists Guild voices dismay at sacking of Gabriele Nunziati.
Italian reporter Gabriele Nunziati was fired by the Rome-based Nova news agency for asking European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho a question about Israel.
During a press conference in Brussels on 13 October, the journalist asked Pinho: “You have been repeating several times that Russia should repay for the construction of Ukraine. Do you believe Israel should repay for the reconstruction of Gaza, since they destroyed almost all of the Strip and civilian infrastructure?”
Pinho replied: “It’s definitely an interesting question on which I would not have any comment at this stage.”
A couple of weeks later, on 27 October, Nunziati received a termination letter from Agenzia Nova, a small Italian news agency in existence since 2001.
Gabriele Nunziati è un cronista basato a Bruxelles
Ha posto una domanda alla Commissione, che la portavoce ha definito “interessante”
Ma l’agenzia per la quale lavora (Nova) l’ha considerata “tecnicamente sbagliata” e ha interrotto il rapporto di lavoropic.twitter.com/iOB9mMh09k
— Marco Bresolin (@marcobreso) November 4, 2025
Nunziati told news outlet Fanpage that in the days following his question about Israel, he had received several “quite tense” phone calls from his employers.
In the meantime video footage of his question had begun circulating widely online, shared by those who believed it demonstrated the disparity between how the two issues—the war in Gaza and the war in Ukraine—are being handled by the European Union, Il Post reports.
Agenzia Nova responds
In response to Fanpage, Agenzia Nova did not deny sending the letter to Nunziati, arguing that his question was “completely out of place and technically incorrect” because Russia invaded a country while Israel “suffered armed aggression”, in reference to the massacre of 7 October 2023.
“It is therefore not surprising that the spokesperson did not answer the question” – Agenzia Nova wrote – “What’s worse, the video relating to his question was picked up and reposted by Russian nationalist Telegram channels and media outlets linked to political Islam with an anti-European agenda, causing embarrassment for the agency.”
Reaction
“You cannot in fact be fired for asking a question”, the national council of the Italian Journalists Guild (ODG) said in a statement, expressing its “dismay” at the case.
The ODG stressed that “the role of journalists, regardless of contractual protections, is to ask questions that may be uncomfortable or unwelcome”, requesting that Nunziati “be reinstated promptly and fully to his role”.
Sandro Ruotolo, MEP for the centre-left opposition Partito Democratico (PD) party, said: “Firing a journalist for asking a question, no matter how uncomfortable or controversial, is a very serious matter that should alarm anyone who cares about press freedom.”
Ruotolo said the case “raises profound questions about the state of journalism and the climate of pressure that weighs on those who simply try to do their job: holding those in power to account”, adding: “There is no such thing as a wrong question.”
Nicola Fratoianni, leader of the Sinistra Italiana and co-leader of the Green-Left Alliance (AVS), echoed these concerns over the dismissal of Nunziati, describing it as “a disconcerting and serious matter for which we will hold parliament accountable”.
Underlining that it is the role of a journalist to ask questions, Fratoianni said the “drastic editorial decision” highlighted “the level of press freedom in our country: well above warning level. And in a democracy, this is a terrible sign”.
Frataoianni called on Agenzia Nova to reconsider its decision, “because this country needs journalists with a straight back, it needs journalists who ask questions”.
