Giorgia Meloni condemns Bologna riots as 64 officers injured following migrant’s death in custody
BOLOGNA, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — Violent riots left 64 police officers injured in Bologna, Italy, after a Moroccan migrant died following restraint by police, with the circumstances of his death still under investigation.
Italian authorities are investigating the death of a 43-year-old Moroccan migrant, Abderrahim Fakir, who died during a police encounter in Bologna on July 19. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violent unrest that followed, insisting that any responsibility for the death must be established through a full investigation while declaring that attacks on police officers cannot be justified. Prosecutors have confirmed that no one has been formally charged and that medical and forensic examinations are still pending.
“What happened in Bologna is unacceptable,” Meloni wrote on . “Any responsibility regarding the death of Fakir must be established with the utmost rigor. The truth must be sought completely, without prejudice and without leniency for anyone. But nothing can justify violence against the police.”
She added that those who used the incident “as a pretext” to attack officers and set parts of the city ablaze “were not seeking the truth; they were seeking confrontation.”
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https://x.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/2079499246978437525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to prosecutors, Fakir died after police responded to emergency calls reporting that a man was behaving violently in Bologna’s Pilastro district. Witnesses who contacted emergency services reported that he was shouting and kicking garage doors.
Police said officers arrived alongside emergency medical personnel after receiving reports from concerned citizens. Authorities stated that Fakir damaged a police vehicle during the confrontation with the authorities. The officers used pepper spray and restrained him with plastic handcuffs. Shortly afterward, he suffered a medical emergency and died despite the presence of emergency responders.
Consequently, the Bologna Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into possible manslaughter. Six people – four healthcare workers and two police officers – have been logged into the “registro degli indagati,” a preliminary registry used in cases where investigators must determine whether legal justification existed, before deciding whether criminal charges are appropriate.
Prosecutors emphasized that this registration does not mean the individuals are under formal investigation.
The Prosecutor’s Office added that investigators are examining the full sequence of events, well beyond what is . Alongside the police body-camera footage, authorities have gathered videos recorded by bystanders and are working to secure surveillance footage from the surrounding area.
An autopsy is expected to be assigned during these days to a group of experts, including a forensic pathologist, an emergency medicine specialist, a toxicologist, and a cardiologist. Prosecutors said the examination may help determine whether the pepper spray or other medical factors contributed to Fakir’s death.
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The death sparked protests in Bologna that escalated into violent confrontations with police outside the city’s prefecture. Protesters threw bottles, firecrackers, and other objects at officers, while police responded with water cannons and tear gas. Demonstrators also erected barricades using bicycles and other debris, while vehicles were set on fire.
“Where is democracy? There is democracy only for your white people! We don’t want to be treated like this by you. The way you call us is the way I’ll call you,” shouted one protester into a microphone.
Italian authorities reported that 64 police officers suffered injuries. Six police vehicles were damaged while shops, banks, public property, construction sites, and other vehicles also sustained damage.
Italian left‑wing politicians expressed solidarity with Fakir and sharply criticized the police operation. Senator Sandra Zampa stated: “Not only the family and the Moroccan community have the right to know, but the entire city of Bologna is demanding answers.”
Liberal Più Europa Secretary Riccardo Magi stated: “We need full clarity, and urgently. It is disturbing that someone dies during an arrest procedure…. The Right should avoid political exploitation and wait for the judiciary.”
The Lega party, in an official statement, defended the officers, stressing that “they intervened at the request of exasperated residents and in the presence of emergency medical personnel, doing their duty. Hands off the police.”
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