Youssef Siher is free again. The investigating magistrate has not authorised his detention

The investigating magistrate at the Court of Milan, Tiziana Landoni, has not authorised the detention of Youssef Siher, administrator of the Telegram chat group and the ‘Movimento 17 ottobre’ Instagram page, and he is to be released. This has been announced by the defence team of the 30-year-old researcher, who was arrested by the police on charges of incitement to commit a criminal offence, aggravated by the aim of terrorism and organised violence during public demonstrations. The public prosecutor’s office had asked the investigating judge to confirm the detention order, arguing that there was both a risk of reoffending and a risk of absconding.

With regard to Siher, “there is no serious evidence of guilt” either in relation to the requirements for pre-trial detention or in relation to the charges brought by the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office. In his posts and statements, the activist “never suggests resorting to violent action”, writes the investigating judge, “nor does he appear to have cited the serious violence that took place on 17 and 18 October 2026 (which he did not even mention) as a model for carrying out the forms of protest and collective mobilisation he proposed”. Furthermore, it cannot even be claimed that Siher, in the run-up to the demonstration on 24 October, “promoted the formation of a group comprising at least five people, organised even on an ad hoc basis, which, during the demonstration, using offensive weapons, might have engaged in behaviour such as to pose a real danger to people’s safety and also cause damage to property, emulating the violent actions that took place on 17 and 18 October 2026”, the order states. “Nor can it be said that the suspect incited or instigated the commission of such conduct.”