Police clashed with demonstrators in Bologna, Italy, after a Moroccan-born man died while pleading for help under police restraint. The death of Abderrahim Fakir, 42, has sparked outrage and demands for answers from human rights campaigners and opposition parties.
Incident Details
Fakir, who had lived in Italy since age five and ran a removals and cleaning business, died on Sunday. A widely shared video shows him repeatedly calling out "aiuto, aiuto, basta" (Help, help, that's enough) as two officers sit on him while ambulance workers look on. After he stops moving, the officers bind his ankles and later check his vital signs. Prosecutors have opened an investigation and requested body cam footage.
Family and Official Reactions
Fakir's sister, Khadija, told Corriere della Sera: "You can't die like this. The police have to protect us. If someone is agitated, you have to calm them down … not kill them like a dog." Police were called by residents concerned about Fakir's erratic behavior. Officers reportedly tried to calm him before using pepper spray and holding him down. They told ambulance personnel he was having a psychiatric episode.
Protests and Comparisons
On Monday night, protesters threw firecrackers near police buildings, prompting teargas and water cannon. Some demonstrators sat in a square holding a photo of Fakir. The incident has been compared to George Floyd's murder and tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Donald Trump. Italy's interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said those insulting police show no trust in law enforcement. European affairs minister Tommaso Foti called chants of "police murderers" disgraceful. Deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini defended police, while Galeazzo Bignami praised their "professional conduct." Senator Ilaria Cucchi, whose brother died in custody, condemned the "solidarity and thanks" expressed to police, criticizing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's "policies seeped in hatred and racism." Francesco Boccia of the Democratic Party said: "If the right wants to import the ICE model, this is the wrong country for it." Lawyer Barbara Spinelli, who met Fakir last year, described him as "a very kind, well educated, respectful person" who feared expulsion. She said: "I told him: 'We are in Italy, a democratic country. Here the police respect the rules.' I don't know how I will ever again manage to tell someone they don't need to be afraid."
