{"id":7991,"date":"2026-07-20T20:35:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/20\/protests-in-italy-after-moroccan-man-dies-during-arrest\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T20:35:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:35:37","slug":"protests-in-italy-after-moroccan-man-dies-during-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/20\/protests-in-italy-after-moroccan-man-dies-during-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Protests in Italy after Moroccan man dies during arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Outrage across Italy\u2019s political spectrum following death in Bologna likened to killing of George Floyd in 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Demonstrations have been held in the northern Italian city of Bologna after a Moroccan man died while being restrained by police.<\/p>\n

Hundreds rallied on Monday evening amid a fierce political row over the officers\u2019 conduct. The death of Abderrahim Fakir on Sunday has drawn inevitable comparisons to the killing of George Floyd<\/a> by United States police in Minneapolis in 2020.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators knelt with raised fists on Sunday, a gesture associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Further protests, backed by the city\u2019s mayor and major trade unions, were held on Monday evening.<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old Moroccan entrepreneur died when police detained him following reports of aggressive behaviour.<\/p>\n

Video of the incident, filmed by a local resident and widely shared online, has prompted demands from opposition figures for accountability. Leaders of the right-wing government have defended the officers involved.<\/p>\n

The video shows Fakir face down on the ground as two officers restrain him. He repeatedly calls out \u201chelp, help, that\u2019s enough\u201d before falling silent.<\/p>\n

Police then bind his ankles and only afterwards check his vital signs.<\/p>\n

According to media reports, officers had used pepper spray and held him down while trying to handcuff him after he reacted aggressively.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother had asked for help\u2026 and they killed him,\u201d one of Fakir\u2019s brothers told the Corriere Della Sera newspaper.<\/p>\n

Bologna prosecutors have opened an inquiry under a newly introduced legal procedure and requested bodycam video from the officers involved.<\/p>\n

The far-right Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, and other government allies have praised the officers\u2019 conduct.<\/p>\n

Opposition figures have accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni\u2019s coalition of fostering a climate of hostility.<\/p>\n

Centre-left legislator Francesco Boccia warned against Italy adopting an \u201cICE model\u201d of US policing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Outrage across Italy\u2019s political spectrum following death in Bologna likened to killing of George Floyd in 2020. Demonstrations have been held in the northern Italian city of Bologna after a Moroccan man died while being restrained by police. Hundreds rallied on Monday evening amid a fierce political row over the officers\u2019 conduct. The death of … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}