‘Migration has been weaponised’: Italy’s security law criticised after death of Moroccan man in police restraint
The death of Abderrahim Fakir in Italian police custody has sparked national protests and intense scrutiny of a new security law. The legislation, which provides police with greater protection from prosecution, is being invoked for the first time in this case.
Why it matters
This case highlights the growing tension between far-right government security policies and civil rights, specifically regarding the treatment of immigrants and police accountability.
A protest in Bologna after the death of Abderrahim Fakir in the city. A protest in Bologna after the death of Abderrahim Fakir in the city. Italy ‘Migration has been weaponised’: Italy’s security law criticised after death of Moroccan man in police restraint Case of Abderrahim Fakir is first in which legal shield giving police greater protection from prosecution has been invoked
Prefer the Guardian on Google If, before 19 July, few people in Italy beyond his family and friends knew who Abderrahim Fakir was, by the late afternoon of that day the final moments of his life were being watched across the country.
Video footage widely shared online showed him being handcuffed and forcibly restrained by police on a street in Pilastro, a neighbourhood in the north-east of Bologna.
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