Italy Prosecutors: WHO Exec Lied About Spiked Virus Report

Italy Prosecutors: WHO Exec Lied About Spiked Virus Report
Francesco Zambon, lead author of a withdrawn World Health Organization (WHO) report into Italy's coronavirus response, shows his report during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Italy, on Dec. 18, 2020. Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

ROME—Italian prosecutors say a top World Health Organization official lied to them about a spiked WHO report into Italy’s coronavirus response, revealing private communications Friday that are likely to embarrass the U.N. health agency.

Prosecutors in Bergamo placed Dr. Ranieri Guerra, at the time a WHO assistant director general, under investigation for allegedly making false declarations to them when he voluntarily agreed to be questioned in November. Guerra was the WHO’s liaison with the Italian government after Italy became the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe last year.