Italian PM Meloni Calls For 'Truth' Behind Bologna Arrest Death As Protests Turn Violent

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday called for a full investigation into the death of a man during a police arrest in Bologna, while condemning anti-police protests that turned violent and left dozens of officers injured.

Moroccan-born Abderrahim Fakir died on Sunday after police were called to the Pilastro neighbourhood on the outskirts of the northern city to deal with a man who was behaving aggressively and damaging a vehicle, Reuters reported.

"It is essential that any responsibilities be ascertained with the utmost rigour. The truth must be pursued thoroughly, without prejudice and without leniency toward anyone," Meloni wrote on X.

The right-wing premier also denounced violence against police during a protest in central Bologna late on Monday which, according to police union COISP, left 56 officers injured. Prosecutors say 64 police were hurt in the unrest. The demonstration turned violent when a group of protesters threw firecrackers, bottles and chairs at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon, Italian media reported.

"Those who chose to use this incident as a pretext to lay waste to the city, attack officers and spread violence ... were not seeking the truth: they were seeking confrontation," Meloni said.

Video and Investigation

A video of Fakir's final moments, widely shared on social media, shows him face down on the ground while two officers restrain him. He can be heard calling for help and saying he could not breathe before his movements gradually stop, according to the BBC report. A third person who is not a policeman pins his legs down as emergency workers stand by. About two minutes into the video, Fakir stops struggling. The police officers tie his wrists and ankles and, when one of them realises Fakir is no longer moving, slaps him twice on the cheek. By the time an ambulance worker approaches, it is clear Fakir is unconscious, the BBC reported.

Prosecutors in Bologna have opened an investigation into manslaughter against the police officers and the medical workers who were present at the scene, as per the report. Bologna police said body-camera footage from the officers involved would be made available to investigators, Reuters reported.

Several eyewitnesses told Italian media that while Fakir appeared to be in distress he did not threaten anybody and was clearly unarmed. "You can't die like this," his sister Khadija told. "They killed him mercilessly, and I want the truth."

Bologna mayor Matteo Lepore told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper that anyone who watched the video was "shocked," and called for the demonstration in central Bologna on Monday evening, inviting Fakir's niece to join him on stage, the BBC reported.

"He was my uncle. He wasn't a number, he wasn't a news line... he was loved," Yossra Fakir said. "He deserved to be helped and heard, and he deserved dignity."

Political Reactions

The case has reignited debate in Italy over police use of force during arrests and prompted comparisons with past cases that resulted in years of legal proceedings and calls for reform, Reuters reported.

While the main demonstration on Monday night was peaceful, about 100 protesters clashed with police into the night and set two cars alight. Lepore said on Tuesday he had seen "two different squares" in Bologna — "thousands of people gathered peacefully and spontaneously to express their support for Abderrahim Fakir's family" and a smaller group "who think they can respond to violence with violence."

Domenico Pianese, the Secretary-General of the police union, criticised Lepore's decision to call for a demonstration that later descended into chaos, arguing that the fact the two officers had to use pepper spray and needed the help of a civilian to restrain Fakir showed that the use of force had not been excessive, the BBC reported.

Opposition politicians, including Ilaria Cucchi, whose brother died in police custody in 2009 and who is now a senator, criticised the government for its support of the police. Francesco Boccia of the centre-left Democratic Party said: "If the right wants to import the ICE model, this is the wrong country for it."