apologia di reato → attempt to defend criminal acts

http://it.thefreedictionary.com/apologia

provo

il divieto di apologia di delitto previsto all'art 414 del codice penale, cioé non bisogna inneggiare al reato come istigazione a commetterlo o come ideale da seguire.

An apologia, or defense, is designed to repair personal or group images ...
www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5002106097

When the resolution was first created, Dennis Hastert had promised several prominent Armenian-American political groups that, if the resolution passed out of committee, he personally would guarantee its discussion on the House floor. Since he reversed his position and violated a public promise, Hastert issued a press release to explain his actions, following a traditional pattern of apologia. What made this case so unique, however, was that Hastert issued the statement via the Internet before any criticisms materialized. In effect, Hastert employed a preemptive apologetic strategy, turning a traditionally defensive rhetorical posture into an offensive rhetorical move. But his justifications and the motives underlying those justifications were so suspect that ultimately the strategy failed. Since Hastert's decision to pull the resolution from the agenda and his application of apologia in a preemptive manner were both so unusual, both merit further consideration.