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Anger Mounts in Italy After Moroccan Man Dies Under Police Restraint
Anger mounts in Italy after Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan national, died while being held down by police officers in Bologna. The tragic incident has sparked widespread outrage across the country, with citizens demanding accountability from law enforcement. Video footage of the event has been shared extensively through Italian media, showing Fakir repeatedly calling for help as officers pressed down on his body. The man, who moved to Italy with his family when he was five years old, reportedly suffered from asthma and heart problems.
What Happened During the Incident
The video captures Fakir shouting “aiuto, aiuto, basta” — meaning “help, help, that’s enough” — as two officers sit on his body while medical staff watch nearby. After he stops moving, the officers tie his ankles together. Only after a short delay do both the officers and ambulance personnel check his vital signs, according to the footage.
Local residents had called authorities because they were worried about Fakir’s strange behavior. Reports suggest that the responding officers told medical workers that the man was going through what they called a psychiatric episode.
Political and Public Response
The death has led people to compare it with the death of George Floyd in America six years ago, as well as with enforcement methods used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Trump presidency.
A protest occurred in Bologna on Monday, with participants calling for “justice and truth for Fakir.” Opposition politicians have strongly condemned the officers’ behavior. Senator Ilaria Cucchi, whose brother died while in custody in 2009, expressed shock at the “solidarity and thanks” given to police after what she called an “inhumane act.”
Cucchi, who represents the opposition Greens and Left alliance (AVS) party, criticized far-right leader Meloni and her coalition government, saying that their “policies seeped in hatred and racism” have created an environment where violence can flourish.
Francesco Boccia, who leads the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) in the Senate, told the Repubblica newspaper that “if the right wants to import the ICE model, this is the wrong country for it. We have democratic antibodies.”
On the other hand, Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini supported the police response. Galeazzo Bignami, who heads Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party in parliament’s lower chamber, praised the officers for their “professional conduct.”
Investigation and Legal Process
Bologna prosecutors have opened an investigation and requested body camera recordings from the officers involved. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio confirmed that a “legal shield” mechanism has been activated for six people: the two law enforcement officers and four medical workers present during the incident.
In comments to Corriere della Sera, Nordio explained that the term “legal shield” does not mean immunity. He stated: “What is avoided is the automatic entry in the register of suspects, which has become a kind of conviction in advance. It is now up to the judiciary to assess whether grounds of justification do or do not exist.”
The legal shield applies when conduct potentially constituting a criminal offense may have been justified by circumstances such as self-defense or duty fulfillment. This means no formal investigation with suspect registration occurs yet; instead, a preliminary verification phase takes place.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi addressed the situation on state television network Rai1, noting that “whoever makes insulting remarks against the police shows they have no trust in our law enforcement nor in our justice system (and) should look into what happened.”
Medical Details and Future Steps
Initial information shows that officers used pepper spray to subdue Fakir before restraining him to the ground. The man sustained injuries to his head and face, though the circumstances surrounding these wounds remain unclear.
The upcoming autopsy will prove critical in determining the cause of Fakir’s death. Prosecutor Domenico Ambrosino and chief prosecutor Paolo Guido are currently working to assemble a panel of medical specialists for this purpose. The suspected charge against those involved is manslaughter.
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