Protests following the death of 19-year-old Rami Elgami, who was fatally injured in Milan a month and a half ago, led to riots in Rome and Bologna on Saturday evening ( the 11th of January).
The 19-year-old died tragically during a car chase. He was travelling on a motorbike with his friend and had failed to stop at a police checkpoint. After an eight-kilometre chase in Milan, Italy, he died after crashing his motorbike into a post.
Yesterday evening, some demonstrators threw smoke bombs at the police, who responded by using batons, during a demonstration in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood of Rome, not far from La Sapienza University.
There were also tensions in Bologna, where a group of demonstrators damaged shops and threw fireworks in the direction of a police station. At the same time, the city’s Jewish synagogue was vandalised.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni emphasised in an online post that ‘a tragedy must not be used to legitimise violence’ and expressed her solidarity with the police forces.
It is recalled that the case of Rami Elgami’s death is being investigated by the Milan prosecutor’s office and that a few days ago the Italian public television channel Rai broadcast a video of a camera attached to the Carabinieri’s helmet.
The Italian press emphasises that from the audible conversation it can be concluded that the carabinieri attempted to ram the motorbike on which the 19-year-old was travelling with his friend and that they tried to block the road.
At the same time, they are said to have asked him to delete the material stored on his mobile phone.
Immediately after this video was broadcast by the Rai broadcasting company, demonstrations were organised in Milan to demand immediate justice for the death of Rami Elgami. Some of the demonstrations led to violent incidents, which were condemned by the victim’s family.
According to many analysts, there are currently concerns about a dangerous escalation of tensions, particularly in the poor neighbourhoods of the Italian capital.