Clashes hit Turin and Bologna protests as Milan prosecutors detain alleged organiser

Turin march ends under tear gas

Protesters clashed with police in Turin on 24 October during a march against rearmament and rising living costs that had set off from piazza Castello in the afternoon. Officers diverted the procession northward, and when it reached corso Principe Oddone, a line of riot police blocked the route toward Porta Susa and the city centre. Demonstrators, many of them hooded young people, threw bottles, stones and fireworks, and police answered with water cannon and tear gas. An attempt to push toward the centre from corso Vigevano and piazza Baldissera was turned back, and protesters were gradually driven north. The march was then dissolved after a dense volley of tear gas, with some demonstrators stopped for checks and police reportedly blocking the van used by the organisers.

Bologna detention

In Bologna, a young man walking along via Marconi was stopped and surrounded by officers in riot gear near number 41 after shouting at police. An officer removed his balaclava, and he was laid on the ground while another officer held him with one arm behind his back, as he complained and asked for help. He then felt unwell, prompting a crowd of protesters to gather and demand his release. A doctor treated him on his side while the 118 ambulance was on its way, and the crowd chanted 'shame, shame' as he was loaded into it. A police water cannon then dispersed protesters nearby while the ambulance remained stopped on via Marconi.

Milan detention of alleged mastermind

Prosecutors in Milan ordered the detention of Youssef Siher, a 30-year-old Italian researcher of second-generation background whom investigators regard as the mastermind of the 17 October Movement. He is linked to clashes in central Milan. The working charges are incitement to crime with the aggravating circumstance of a terrorist purpose, and organised violence at public demonstrations under article 420 bis of a new decree-law. His wife is under investigation for the same offences but remains free. The charges are allegations at this stage.

Government and police response

Giorgia Meloni, Italy's prime minister, praised the police on social media on 24 October for keeping security intact while some violent individuals tried to provoke clashes. She also thanked interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, along with prefects and police chiefs who coordinated the operations. Her statement linked the day's events to measures approved by the Council of Ministers in the days before 24 October, which give the state more effective tools to prevent violence. She wrote:

The right to demonstrate must always be guaranteed, as must the right of citizens to live their cities safely.

She added that the aim was to stop troublemakers from setting whole cities on fire.

Regional reaction in Piedmont

Alberto Cirio, president of the Piedmont region, said the city had lived in fear ahead of the march, with shops closed for a lost working day and some windows protected with wooden panels. He said a small group of troublemakers had swapped the right to dissent for confrontation and violence, and reported that they burned an image of the prime minister. Cirio called on political forces and peaceful demonstrators to distance themselves from the violence. He said:

Those who were in the square peacefully should dissociate themselves, and so should all political forces.

He expressed solidarity with the police and the shopkeepers, and condemned those who chose illegality and violence.