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Italy tightens security measures after riot
Italy made it easier Thursday for police to detain people suspected of plotting to riot after violent weekend clashes in Turin by armed protesters injured more than 100 officers.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government rushed through the security decree following Saturday’s violence during a demonstration in the northern Italian city over the closure of a left-wing cultural centre.
The measures target “organised groups dedicated to violence, which have nothing to do with the right to demonstrate and which use public spaces as a pretext to cause disorder and destruction”, Meloni said on X.
More than 100 police officers were injured in the clashes against hundreds of Italian and foreign protesters, who threw homemade incendiary devices, smoke bombs, bottles and stones.
Images of a police officer being beaten by masked individuals — including one wielding a hammer — shocked the country, but the opposition has accused the government of using the episode as an excuse to restrict protesting rights.
Under the new law, police will be able to detain for up to 12 hours repeat violent offenders suspected of planning to disrupt an upcoming demonstration, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said after a cabinet meeting.
It is also now illegal not to stop when ordered to do so by the police.
The decree also includes restrictions on knife sales to minors and fines for parents of children found carrying knives.
AFP
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