A sweeping new security law enacted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition has come under intense national scrutiny following the death of a Moroccan-born business owner in police custody. The incident has reignited a fierce debate over immigration, policing, and accountability in Italy, marking the first time a controversial new legal shield has been invoked to protect officers from immediate criminal suspect status.
Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old small business owner who had lived in Italy since childhood, died on July 19 in Pilastro, a working-class neighborhood in northeast Bologna. Video footage of his final moments, widely circulated online, showed Fakir handcuffed and pinned to the ground by two police officers while emergency healthcare workers looked on. Fakir could be heard repeatedly begging for help before he stopped moving. He was pronounced dead at the scene. While the official cause of death is still being determined, an initial post-mortem examination indicated lung compression.
The tragedy has sparked protests in Bologna and Rome, drawing sharp focus to the government’s policing policies. Under the newly enacted security bill, public officials are granted a legal shield that offers greater protection from prosecution if they can demonstrate they acted in self-defense or within the line of duty. Because of this law, the two police officers and four healthcare workers being investigated by Bologna prosecutors in connection with involuntary manslaughter have not been formally registered as criminal suspects. Authorities must first determine whether the use of restraint was unjustified before formal suspect status can be applied. The two officers involved returned to their duties on Monday.
Legal representatives for the officers strongly deny that excessive force was used, asserting that their clients fully complied with official protocols. Similarly, lawyers representing the healthcare workers stated that their clients acted in strict accordance with emergency medical guidelines. However, critics argue the legal shield grants too much power to law enforcement and undermines accountability. Fabio Anselmo, the lawyer representing the Fakir family, warned that the rule risks "sabotaging" the investigation, stating, "In this case, this is a rule that could effectively create impunity."
In Pilastro, a neighborhood of about 7,000 residents where immigrants make up 25 percent of the population, friends and family worry that political pressure will interfere with justice. Banners demanding "Truth and justice for Fakir – the state kills" have been tied to railings on Via Italo Svevo, the street where he died, and similar messages have been scrawled on local bus stops. Although Fakir lived in another part of Bologna, he frequently visited Pilastro to see his brother, Mohamed, and childhood friends.
On the night before his death, Fakir had been in good spirits while spending time with friends, according to his childhood friend Mike El Canas, who described him as "a good person, so kind and full of life," with many friends in both the Moroccan and Italian communities. The exact sequence of events leading up to his death remains unclear. Police stated they responded to resident reports of a man acting erratically and aggressively, calling health services to report a "psychiatric episode." Videos filmed by residents prior to the police intervention showed Fakir in a state of extreme agitation and confusion. It was later revealed that he had been referred for mental health treatment in June.
In a letter published by La Repubblica, Barbara Spinelli, a lawyer who was assisting Fakir with his residence permit renewal, wrote that he harbored deep fears of deportation due to the European Union's "return hubs" migration pact, despite her reassurances. He was also reportedly distressed about having to lay off employees due to a slowdown in his business.
Fakir's sister, Khadija, speaking from Casablanca where family members have gathered to await the repatriation of his body for burial next to his late mother, expressed deep grief. She condemned the way some far-right politicians and right-wing media outlets have sought to dehumanize her brother by highlighting drug convictions from his youth. "Abderrahim helped those in need and was friendly and joked with everyone. This was Abderrahim," she said. Khadija, who could not bring herself to watch the footage of the incident, questioned why police had to resort to such measures. "They could have calmed him down with something. Why did he have to end up in the hands of the police like that?" After establishing a crowdfunding page for legal expenses, the family faced online harassment accusing them of trying to profit from the tragedy. "I would pay €3m to have my brother back," Khadija said. "All we want is truth and justice from the Italian state. Whoever acted wrongfully must pay."
The neighborhood of Pilastro has a history of political tension. During a 2020 regional election campaign, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party and current deputy prime minister, famously rang the intercom of a local Tunisian family to ask if they were drug dealers. Salvini, who has previously posed in police uniform, has defended the officers involved in Fakir's death. Furthermore, Pilastro residents recently felt the impact of the new security bill’s crackdown on peaceful dissent, when 33 people were fined thousands of euros during a protest against a museum construction project that would destroy a local park. One protester was detained for two days after climbing a tree.
Many residents now admit they are afraid to speak out. "The police have the power, a uniform that protects them, and we are nobodies," said El Canas. "But we must speak up, as otherwise, where will us ordinary citizens end up?" Fabio Anselmo noted that while most Italian police officers are dedicated professionals, some "inevitably absorb the political climate in which they operate."
This political climate is expected to intensify as Meloni prepares for next year's general election, facing competition from far-right rival Roberto Vannacci. Meloni has positioned security and immigration at the forefront of her political platform, a focus underscored by her recent response to mass migrant crossings from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Cecilia Sottilotta, an associate politics professor at the Università per Stranieri in Perugia, observed that the situation reflects how these legislative measures function in practice. "The Fakir story illustrates how words and these kinds of bills actually play out on the ground," Sottilotta said. "But these security measures have long been in the plans of Italy’s far right, who have always insisted that the police should have a free rein. Now, the big picture is very important. Migration has been weaponised. Again, this is not new, but we will see more of it with elections coming up."
