The Supreme Court, with recent ruling (n. 25940/2017), confirming what the Court of Appeal already stated, overturned the absolution of a stalker. In particular, the Supreme Court specifies that the crime of stalking can be assumed also in the case of violation of private life through an unduly and abusive access to Facebook and e-mail accounts of the victim.

At first grade, the Tribunal verified that the victim had suffered of serious threats and offenses on her Facebook profile by the stalker, and that the behaviors were so invasive that it made victim’s life impossible, forcing her to change her home in the aim of escaping from that situation. Due to the humiliating attitude of the stalker, the victim developed a deep state of malaise and stress .

But at first instance the Tribunal, despite the evidence against the stalker and the existence of all the requirements laid down in Article 612a of the Italian criminal Code, did not condemn the man, because, in its opinion, the causal link between the persecutory conduct and the state of anxiety and malaise developed in the victim was not proved beyond any reasonable doubt.

Nonetheless, the stalker’s conduct was repeated and persistent, thus clearly able to lead in the victim a strong state of fear and anxiety. Luckily, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the victim was right, carefully examining the obvious evidence in her favor.