Summary from the article by CIVICUS Monitor published on 07/03/2025 – accessible here.
Civic space in Italy is facing significant deterioration, with growing concern over the controversial Security Bill 1236, the so-called “anti-Gandhi bill”. The bill is expected to be considered by the Senate in March 2025. Framed as a public security measure, the bill introduces a set of repressive legal provisions that criminalise peaceful protest and civil disobedience. It imposes severe penalties for non-violent actions such as blocking traffic, defacing property, or opposing infrastructure projects – posing particular restrictions to environmental activists. Protesters blocking traffic could face up to two years in prison, while property offences that are already subject to stricter sanctions under the “eco-vandals law” (Law No. 6/2024), would lead to even harsher punishments. Detainees and migrants exercising their fundamental rights could face harsh punishment under the law. Additionally, it expands state surveillance and grants security services disturbing new powers, including the ability to commit crimes in the name of national security.
If passed, the bill would further shrink civic space in Italy, where journalists, human rights defenders, and activists, especially those working on environmental and refugee rights, are already facing increasing legal harassment, criminal prosecution and detention. The government has also intensified pressure on the judiciary, accusing it of being politically biased and aligned with civil society organisations. Reflecting these alarming developments, Italy was added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist in March 2025, signalling serious concern over the erosion of civic freedoms and the increasing repression of dissent.
Civil society organisations, trade unions, and thousands of protesters across Italy have mobilised in opposition to the bill. International bodies and over 20 European civil society organisations have condemned the bill as one of the most serious threats to the right to protest in decades in a joint statement coordinated by In Difesa Di.
