ITALY: New Security Decree risks further criminalising right to protest
Since early October, protests and demonstrations have been taking place in various parts of Italy. In response to the events which took place on 17 October, where some individuals committed acts of vandalism and attacked the police, the government approved a new security decree and deployed 500 soldiers on the streets of Milan. This is the eighth security measure passed during the current government’s mandate.
The new Public Security Decree introduces tougher policing measures, particularly on minors. It introduces a presumption of criminal responsibility for minors aged 14 to 18 unless proven otherwise and introduces administrative sanctions for the parents of minors involved in certain crimes. It also extends preventive detention to up to 12 hours in crowded places, creates a new offence of “violent participation in public demonstration”, and expands the use of delayed arrests under Article 382-bis of the Code of Criminal Procedure to offences including destruction and looting, attacks on public utility facilities, violent participation in demonstrations, and group-related property damage. As per the decree, the police commissioner may also order a ban on gatherings for specific individuals in specifically designated places, for a period of no more than one year, including for minors over the age of fourteen. Civil society has raised its concerns that the new decree risks further restricting civic space and discouraging participation in public life.