Giuseppe Conte denounces unconstitutional witness hearings in Italy's Covid inquiry

Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement and former prime minister, criticised the Covid‑19 parliamentary inquiry commission for allowing the president of the commission, Marco Lisei of Fratelli d’Italia, to delegate the hearing of citizen witnesses to consultants appointed by his party. Conte said the practice bypasses the constitutional guarantee of a public, adversarial hearing and violates the principle of oral evidence required in criminal proceedings. He described the procedure as an “institutional abuse” that could set a dangerous precedent and announced he would file complaints and consider resigning from the commission unless a date for his own hearing is set.

Conte also accused Fratelli d’Italia of using the process to gather illegitimate evidence for allied media outlets. In related testimony, former deputy Riccardo Fraccaro affirmed under oath that concerns about counterfeit masks during the pandemic were known but not disclosed to avoid hindering the judiciary. The controversy centers on the commission’s method of testing witnesses in police stations, away from parliamentary oversight, and has sparked a broader debate over procedural legality and partisan manipulation within Italy’s legislative inquiry.