Good lads and bad cops

Public opinion is in turmoil, as they say, and there is certainly no shortage of reasons for this, particularly regarding security issues. The decision by the Milan investigating magistrate regarding the arrest of Youssef Siher – which highlighted a flimsy and forced case against him – and the reopening of the case involving Abderrahim Fakir (it must be said that his death was caused by ‘contributing factors’ and not solely by the ‘culpable’ actions of the officers), coupled with the chilling audio recordings of the officers, are ramping up the pressure. It would be wise to tone down the opposing propaganda. Whilst the judiciary has already dealt with the government’s version, as for the rest, we are still waiting.

For example, to understand the outcome of the “130 reports of excessive force” allegedly committed by the police during the student demonstrations over the past few days. “Minors detained for hours without being able to contact their parents; young people stopped far from the marches, even in the park whilst playing basketball or table tennis,” writes La Repubblica, citing the dossier that a team of lawyers is reportedly compiling. The story of the Roman girl in the black hoodie who was allegedly taken to the police station without even having started to demonstrate is particularly newsworthy. Lawyer Gilberto Pagani of Legal Team stated: “The most striking thing is the racial profiling.” He bases this on reports, particularly from Milan, following the unrest when nearly 200 minors were taken to the police station. Could there be a concrete reason, rather than a ‘racial’ one? Democracy and the freedom to demonstrate must be protected, but – as the complaints also suggest – we are not in Bolzaneto. Instead, it should be remembered once again that dozens of police officers have ended up in hospital in recent days, whilst not a single young protester has. One mother complained: “My son was stopped whilst on his way to the demonstration, searched and taken away, held for more than nine hours at the police station without us being notified – for what? For 16 surgical masks in his rucksack.” Perhaps he’d forgotten that Covid is over. At the Mariuccia nursery.