Bologna Protests Demand Justice After Man Dies During Police Restraint

Protests erupted across Italy following the death of a Moroccan-born man who died while being forcibly restrained by two police officers in the northern city of Bologna.

On Monday evening, several thousand demonstrators marched through the streets demanding justice for Abderrahim Fakir.

A smaller faction later broke away and clashed with law enforcement late into the night, leaving 64 officers injured, according to prosecutors.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed the need for a thorough investigation into the circumstances of his death, while condemning the violence directed at police, stating that “nothing can justify violence against law enforcement.”

The incident began Sunday morning when police responded to a call in the working-class Pilastro district. A neighbor reported Fakir behaving erratically and kicking garage doors. Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation before resorting to pepper spray.

Footage circulating in Italian media shows two officers pinning Fakir face-down to the ground as he pleads for them to stop. A civilian assists by restraining his legs while emergency personnel stand nearby.

Approximately two minutes into the recording, Fakir ceases to move. The officers bind his wrists and ankles; one officer slaps his cheek twice upon realizing he is unresponsive. By the time a paramedic reaches him, Fakir is clearly unconscious.

Bologna prosecutors have launched a manslaughter investigation targeting the involved police officers and the medical staff present at the scene.

Multiple eyewitnesses told Italian media that although Fakir appeared distressed, he posed no threat and was unarmed.

“You cannot die like this,” his sister, Khadija, told Italian media. “They killed him mercilessly, and I want the truth.”

Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore told La Repubblica that the video left viewers “shocked.”

Lepore called for Monday evening’s demonstration in central Bologna and invited Fakir’s niece to join him on stage.

“He was my uncle. He wasn’t a number, he wasn’t a headline… he was loved,” Yossra Fakir said. “He deserved to be helped and heard, and he deserved dignity.”

While the main rally remained peaceful, roughly 100 protesters later clashed with police and set fire to two vehicles.

On Tuesday, Lepore described “two different squares” in Bologna: thousands who gathered peacefully to support Fakir’s family, and a smaller group “who think they can respond to violence with violence.”

Domenico Pianese, secretary-general of a police union, criticized Lepore’s decision to call the protest, which later descended into disorder.

Summoning a protest “the day after a dramatic event like this,” Pianese argued, effectively invited “all the pseudo-anarchists and those who are anti-police… to take advantage and protest against the state.”

When asked what errors police made during the detention, he replied: “Judging from the images we saw, the intervention was carried out correctly.”

Pianese contended that the officers’ use of pepper spray and their reliance on a civilian to help subdue Fakir demonstrated that force was not excessive. “The first thing they did [after the incident] was… hand all [bodycam] footage to prosecutors,” he added.

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