Synagogue stormed

Protests in Rome escalate after the death of an Egyptian man

Young people in particular are protesting against the Carabinieri. (archive picture)(Bild: AFP/MARCO BERTORELLO, Krone KREATIV)

There were clashes between young people and the police in Rome and other Italian cities late on Saturday evening. Young people with a migration background in particular are currently taking to the streets to demonstrate against police violence. A synagogue was stormed in Bologna.

The riots broke out during a demonstration for Ramy Elgaml, a 19-year-old of Egyptian origin who died in a chase with carabinieri in Milan on November 24. Eight officers were injured. 

Hundreds of people had gathered in the San Lorenzo district of Rome for a rally organized by left-wing parties and student groups. The situation soon came to a head: the demonstrators threw smoke bombs at a supermarket and then Molotov cocktails at police vehicles. The police responded with baton blows.

In Bologna, the synagogue was stormed and vandalized after protests also broke out in the northern Italian city over the death of the young Egyptian.

Acts of vandalism and destruction took place in the city center. Garbage cans were set on fire and stones were thrown at the police and fire department. Shop windows were smashed, windows damaged and walls covered in graffiti, lamented Bologna's mayor Matteo Lepore. He expressed his solidarity with the Jewish community.

"On behalf of the citizens of Bologna, I demand that those responsible be identified, we have several video recordings. The city council will demand compensation. There are no justifiable reasons for the devastation of Bologna," said the mayor.

Meloni condemns attacks on police officers
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the attacks on police officers. She lamented the "unrest and chaos caused by the usual troublemakers who took to the streets out of pure vindictiveness".

"You cannot use a tragedy to justify violence. Our solidarity is with the police and we wish the injured officers a speedy recovery. We are on their side," the Prime Minister wrote on social media about the protests in Rome.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi emphasized that attacks on the forces of law and order "must be strictly condemned". He added that the right to demonstrate "can never be used as a pretext for acts of violence, intimidation or questioning the authority of the state". Parliament President Lorenzo Fontana also expressed his "solidarity with the civil servants" and described the aggression against them as "unacceptable".

The Carabinieri are suspected of deliberately causing the young man's motorcycle to crash during a chase. The teenager died from his injuries. As a result, protests and demonstrations by young people with a migration background broke out across Italy.