Former Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno is free again. He was released from Rebibbia prison after serving one year, five months, and 24 days for illicit trafficking of influence and abuse of office, charges that were downgraded from initial counts of corruption and mafia association during the high-profile "Mondo di Mezzo" investigation. Alemanno had been detained since December 31, 2024, following the revocation of his community service alternative due to compliance violations.
A crowd of journalists and roughly a hundred supporters gathered outside the correctional facility to witness his exit. "I leave this prison an innocent man. I served a year and a half as an innocent man and I shouldn't have been here," were his first words, which he coupled with sharp criticism of the Meloni government's handling of the prison system. The former mayor brushed off immediate questions regarding his political future, amid strong rumors linking him to a potential candidacy with Futuro Nazionale (National Future), the populist right-wing party recently launched by former general Roberto Vannacci following his departure from the Lega.