In April 2025, the luxury fashion company Montblanc (part of Richemont) filed a “defamation and coercion” criminal complaint against union officials from Sudd Cobas Francesca Ciuffi, Sarah Caudiero and Luca Toscano in Italy. Sudd Cobas union has supported Pakistani and Afghani workers who joined the union after experiencing alleged abusive working conditions at a Montblanc supplier, Z Production, in Prato (Italy). Sudd Cobas organised protests for improved working conditions, and in 2022, following negotiations between Sudd Cobas and Z Production, an agreement was signed for improved conditions. After the agreement was signed, the contract between Z Production and Richemont was terminated. Following the contract termination, Sudd Cobas organised new protests in 2023 both outside the factory and outside Montblanc’s Florence boutique. In 2024, the union continued to cooperate with the workers to protest. In January 2025, Sudd Cobas found out that Montblanc also instituted proceedings at a local civil court, calling for an immediate ban on demonstrations by Sudd Cobas activists outside its stores. Following an international appeal launched by the Campagna Abiti Puliti (the Italian branch of the Clean Clothes Campaign-CCC), the company withdrew its complaint from the civil court. However, the criminal complaint is still pending. We invited the company to respond; it did.