Green light from the Council of Ministers for the new decree on safety and juvenile crime.
"We have all seen the images of the violence that shocked Milan and other Italian cities at the weekend, shops looted, shop windows destroyed, police forces attacked. These are unacceptable scenes that no one can think of minimizing or justifying, which is why today the Council of Ministers approved a decree with new measures to prevent and combat this violence", said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a video released at the end of the meeting.
Today "a new crime is born, violent participation in a demonstration", said the prime minister. "If during a procession or demonstration you join a group of five or more people, you start throwing stones, firecrackers, sticks, you put everyone's safety in danger, you risk up to five years in prison, up to 20 thousand euros in fines. If you had your face covered or if you injured someone, the penalty increases and the penalties for those who devastate a group also increase.
With this provision we apply "a simple principle: whoever breaks it pays and if the person who breaks it is a minor, his parents pay", said Meloni. "How does it work? If the damage is to a public good, a bus shelter, a traffic light, a van, the prefect sends the payment order home. If the damage is to a private individual, a shop window, a shop, a car, the owner goes to the judge and obtains an immediately enforceable injunction."
"Today, for a boy between 14 and 18 years old - continued Meloni - the State must demonstrate every time that he was able to understand what he was doing. We had already approved a rule that overturns this principle, i.e. it is presumed that he was able to understand what he was doing unless proven otherwise. That rule is in Parliament, but with today's decree it becomes effective immediately. And the preventive detention which until now only applied to adults will also be applicable to minors."
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, at the press conference at Palazzo Chigi, after the Council of Ministers, explained that "to stem this phenomenon that has struck our cities in recent days, this scheme was created which concerns criminal procedure: first, it concerns the presumption of capacity of understanding and will, that is, the imputability, of minors between the ages of 14 and 18". Already included in the bill, but "today it is included in the decree law and has immediate effect", he said.
Nordio explained that "there is an autonomous type of crime" punished from 4 to 12 years for anyone who promotes the formation of a group, even using IT or telematic tools, for these "violent demonstrations".
The preventive stop for demonstrations is also extended to "those who disturb security in places characterized by a significant influx of people": this was said by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi at the end of the Council of Ministers. "It is based on the suspicion of committing crimes - he added - even against minors" on an "unprecedented" phenomenon.
The Quirinale's only exception to the drafts of the new security decree passed today by the Council of Ministers concerns the possibility of giving judicial police duties to the military. According to what was learned from parliamentary sources, this would have been the crux for the government after the usual discussions between the offices of the Quirinale and those of Palazzo Chigi.
Before the meeting, the undersecretary to the Prime Minister Alfredo Mantovano chaired the government's technical meetings at Palazzo Chigi in the early afternoon to take stock of the decree. The meeting was also attended by the heads of cabinet of the ministries concerned and the heads of the legislative offices, including that of the Presidency of the Council directed by Francesca Quadri.
Among the measures under discussion were the extension of preventive detention to minors and with a duration exceeding 12 hours, the deferred arrest for those responsible for causing damage to groups and the ban on aggregation for people deemed dangerous for public order. Alongside this, a strengthening of the Safe Roads operation.
The Provincial Committee for Public Order and Security will meet tomorrow morning at 11 in Milan, after the weekend's clashes, and in view of the upcoming demonstrations announced. The meeting was convened by the prefect, Claudio Sgaraglia. The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, will also be present.
The convocation of the meeting was anticipated by the mayor Giuseppe Sala, on the sidelines of the commemoration of the massacre of the little martyrs of Gorla, commenting on the fact that more law enforcement officers will arrive in the city. "Let's discuss it because the topic is certainly delicate - he added - I believe, as many are saying, that it cannot just be a problem of repression. Absolutely not".
"I am worried about the fact that this situation, which also arises from a malaise that all of us cannot fail to see, only focuses on violence, on the repression of violence" added Sala, still speaking of last weekend's riots in which the protagonists were, for the most part, minors.
According to Sala, "politics must also wisely address the causes and origins" of the malaise, "without do-goodism, without indulgences but with a critical spirit". “First of all with respect to our work, we must do more,” he concluded.
Tomorrow at 6pm in Piazza della Scala in front of the headquarters of the Municipality of Milan there will be a demonstration promoted by the CGIL entitled 'Milan does not want violence' after the riots that occurred last weekend. Mayor Giuseppe Sala will also be in the square.
"Yes there are certainly - said Sala on the sidelines of the commemoration of the massacre of the little martyrs of Gorla -. Regarding what happened last weekend I believe it is a much broader phenomenon, obviously the reference is Paris, big cities are like that, they grow and harbor social tensions which however must be managed". "Over the weekend we saw the abandoned shops. I took a tour yesterday and beyond the material damage - Sala explained -. The thing that impressed me most was also the fear of the kids who work there. In short, it is clear that we must not put them in a position to suffer this violence".
There will also be Mario Calabresi, mayoral candidate for the possible centre-left primaries for the mayor of Milan. The demonstration was promoted by the CGIL and the Democratic Party also joined, along with many other entities. "Tomorrow I will participate in the demonstration and I believe that it is important to give a signal that the city is united - he said on the sidelines of the commemoration of the massacre of the little martyrs of Gorla -. I believe that at this moment the most important thing is to give the signal that the city is united in condemning violence and in finding its normality".
"There are no justifications for what happened and then we need to understand the reasons why these events happen and try to cure them - continued the journalist -. However, I believe that this is the time for unity in Milan and I am a little surprised by those who use what happened to make political controversy. I am happy that tomorrow there will also be an initiative by all the forces of the centre-left in the square together with the mayor, to reiterate the importance of a peaceful and safe city".
"Involving, welcoming, giving tools, hope, perspective, work and future" to young people "is the other side of the coin compared to prevention and repression which alone are not enough", said the deputy prime minister and minister for Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini from the stage of the laying of the foundation stone of the new campus of the Milan conservatory.
"As a Milanese minister I am thrilled by what we are able to bring forward, 1700 young people who will sleep in the former Olympic village tonight - he underlined - here too a difficult bet to win and 1100 policemen who will sleep in the former Montello barracks, freeing up space for the Catholic University. I am thinking of the former gasometers in another suburb to the north - he added -, Milan will take it, there they will find space and study for 20 thousand students". "It is exceptional how over the years Milan has managed to run and not stop", he concluded.
