Italy: protests in dozens of cities a week after Milan riots; police use tear gas and water cannon in Rome, Turin and Bologna as alleged founder of 'Movimento 17 ottobre' is placed under investigation
Thousands marched against the cost of living, rearmament and war across Italy on Saturday. A group entered the Colosseum in Rome before police moved them out, and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said there would be 'no safe havens' as investigators identified the man believed to run the movement's social media page.
Protests against the cost of living, rearmament and war took place in dozens of Italian cities on Saturday 24 October, a week after riots and looting in Milan, Il Foglio and Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
In Rome, an authorised march against Italy’s involvement in wars, attended by several hundred people according to TG La7, ended without incident. A separate group of young people later reached the Colosseum, where some forced their way in before police moved them out, Il Foglio reported; Euronews said police did not charge. Il Sole 24 Ore reported that police used water cannon and tear gas and carried out charges after bottles were thrown when marchers tried to head towards government buildings, and that 96 people had been taken to police headquarters in Rome, according to its latest update.
In Turin, police fired tear gas and carried out several charges after flares and bottles were thrown, Il Sole 24 Ore reported. Protesters there burned a photo of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and two people were detained, Il Foglio reported. In Bologna, police used tear gas and water cannon after stones and firecrackers were thrown; a young man was taken away by ambulance. In Milan, where about 5,000 officers and 500 paratroopers were deployed according to Il Foglio, more than 10,000 people marched and police blocked access to the city centre, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
Police carried out more than 150 searches, mostly in Lombardy, on Saturday morning. Investigators identified Youssef Siher, 30, as the person believed to run the “Movimento 17 ottobre” page that called the protests; he has been placed under investigation for incitement to commit crimes, Il Sole 24 Ore reported. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said there would be “no safe havens” for anyone who thinks they can organise attacks and riots while hiding “behind a balaclava or the anonymity of social media”.
See also: Italy’s cabinet approves security decree after Milan riots.
Sources
- Squares under heavy security: clashes in central Rome, police charges and water cannons used against demonstrators · Il Sole 24 Ore
- Cortei in tutta Italia, scontri a Bologna e Torino. Indagato il fondatore del Movimento 17 ottobre · Il Foglio
- Cortei contro il caro-vita: alta tensione nelle principali città italiane (live) · Euronews
- Manifestazioni oggi: la giornata in diretta da Milano a Roma · TG La7
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