Bologna municipality don come out to clear the air about the protest wey happen last Monday. Some people from the right side, like Senator Marco Lisei from Fratelli d’Italia, bin dey talk say the protest wey Mayor Matteo Lepore call no get proper authorization from the police and prefecture. This kind talk even make am for some newspapers.
But on Wednesday afternoon, July 22, the municipality come out to settle the matter. They show wetin happen before the gathering at Piazza del Nettuno. The municipality release a press release where they call the protest. According to the note from Palazzo d’Accursio, the mayor’s office send two messages to the prefecture and police, sharing the press release and informing them in advance, just as the local government law require.
On Monday morning, July 20, they hold two phone discussions with the prefecture and police. There was a technical meeting wey include the local police and other security forces, to coordinate public order and safety. At that meeting, they make some requests to the local police, like clearing Piazza Roosevelt of vehicles, monitoring construction sites near the square, and making all available patrols ready. The local police do all those things.
Later, at 6 PM, the Provincial Committee for Public Order and Security meet. The committee no make any formal request to cancel the protest for security reasons. Instead, they talk at the institutional level to manage public order, like they do for all other events.
During the discussions, the police also inform say they know about another protest wey some antagonist groups plan. The municipality on one side, and the collectives on the other side. They discuss how the institutional protest go happen, the location, and the tone the institutions go maintain. Based on that, the police set up their public order plan, focusing security forces around Piazza Roosevelt, where the collectives might come, and ask the local police to remove vehicles there, not at the institutional protest.
The protest wey the municipality organise happen as a moment of institutional reflection. Abderrahim Fakir, during their speech, they distance themselves from any form of violence and reject any action done in their name.
Meanwhile, the four volunteers from the Red Cross wey dey involved for the death of Abderrahim Fakir dey very shocked and troubled. Their lawyer, Mario Simoni, say the volunteers, three men and one woman, dey listed in the case file under model 45-bis, not as suspects, but for possible manslaughter. The volunteers complete training as ambulance rescuers, but they no be nurses or doctors.
