A day after police and protesters clashed in the northern Italian city of Bologna, local authorities on Tuesday urged residents to remain calm and await the results of the official investigation into the death of Abderrahim Fakir.
“They brutally murdered my brother, I want justice,” Faqir’s sister Khadija told reporters after his death in the city’s Pilastro area on Sunday.
What do we know about the death of Abderrahim Fakir?
According to Italian media, Fakir came to Italy from Morocco with his family at the age of 7 and they settled in Bologna. He ran a cleaning business and was a legal permanent resident of Italy. Family members said he had gone to meet friends in Pilastro.
Bologna police say they were called early Sunday morning in response to a call about a man causing damage to a vehicle in a neighborhood.
Officers said the temperature was around 35 °C (95 Fahrenheit) when they arrived, and when Fakir continued to be aggressive they tried to subdue him with pepper spray before arresting him and handcuffing him.
In a video widely circulated online, Fakir can be seen repeatedly calling for help and struggling to breathe before he stops moving. His family told Italian media that he had a history of asthma and heart problems, was married and had no knowledge of any previous disputes with authorities.
Protest in central Bologna
On Monday, a demonstration was held in Bologna’s famous Piazza del Nettuno. Italian news agency ANSA reported that some protesters chanted anti-police slogans and one threw a firecracker, but the protesters were largely peaceful.
ANSA said police responded with tear gas and water cannon.
Italy’s two main police unions have accused activists of using social media to launch an online witch hunt against police based on incomplete footage of the incident and said dozens of officers have been injured in clashes with protesters.
Local officials have urged calm and said a thorough investigation is underway. Bologna police have said they plan to release the full bodycam footage to investigators.
Bologna health officials have said they are also launching an investigation into how long it took to reach the scene.
How did the delegates react?
Mayor Matteo Lepore, of the center-left Democratic Party (PD), also urged residents to wait for the full picture, but said you can tell “something has clearly gone wrong.”
Appearing with some of Fakir’s loved ones, he said, “You cannot die like this.” He also expressed confidence in the rule of law in the city and said that the truth will be brought out.
He thanked Fakir’s niece for calling for “respect, truth and justice, not revenge.”
Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also called for the full truth to be revealed, but accused online protesters of spreading “hate against the police”.
Edited by: Rana Taha
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