The Italian government has adopted a new decree envisioning sentences of up to five years in prison for participants in violent protests, preventing minors, and parental financial responsibility for the damage caused by their children.
The decision was made Tuesday evening at an extraordinary government meeting following riots and plundering since Saturday, including Milan and other cities in Italy. The new measures enter into force immediately, while the decree needs parliament’s approval within 60 days.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melon introduced the measures through a video on social networks, stressing that the right to protest cannot be used as justification for destruction of property.
Protesting is fair, but destroying our cities is not melon wrote on the X platform.
According to the decree, those who join a group of at least five people during the protests and throw stones, pyrotechnics or sticks could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fines of up to 20 thousand euros. Punishments will be harsher if protesters have their faces covered or injured other people.
The new measures envision even more severe penalties for destroying property, plundering and assaulting public objects during the protests. It will also expand the possibility of arresting persons even after criminal acts have been committed.
One of the major changes relates to financial responsibility for the damage. Parents will be forced to pay for the damage done by their minor children, while injured persons can seek compensation through accelerated legal procedures.
The edict also affects minors between the ages of 14 and 18 who will be claimed to understand their actions unless proven otherwise. And the preventative ban, which so far applied only to adults, could apply to them as well.
Mellon announced that by the end of the year, 500 soldiers will be sent to Milan to support police and carabiniers. Authorities also aim to increase the number of judges and the capacity of institutions for treatment of minors.
Meanwhile, the decree has removed provisions that would grant soldiers the competencies of the judicial police, including the right to stop and arrest persons.
According to Melon, nearly 200 police members have been injured during the riots, while 330 persons have been detained or arrested. Material damage in Milan alone is estimated at about one million euros, according to the organisation’s data Confcommercio.
The prime minister also announced that the youngest participant identified in Milan’s riots is only 11 years old.
Protests initially began peacefully because of discontent with public services and increased cost of living but then degraded violence. Groups of young hoods burned garbage containers and robbed shops.
Destruction and theft are not a protest, but a crime, Mellon declared, defending the government’s new measures. /Telegraphy/