On September 18, the Chamber of Deputies approved a new set of regulations known as the security decree, which now moves to the Senate for review. The measure includes harsher penalties for those who protest and block traffic.
This means that a very important right, the freedom of speech and the ability to express one’s opinion through one of the few remaining tools—strikes and public demonstrations—will be restricted.
Additionally, the decree introduces prison sentences of up to twenty years for those who participate in protests within the Centri di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio (CPR), the administrative detention centers where foreigners are held if they do not have proper residency permits.
These are people who have committed no crime other than not having the correct documents in a country where staying or entering legally is nearly impossible. These places have often been at the center of protests due to the degrading living conditions inside them.
The newly approved regulation states: “Anyone who, through acts of violence or threats or even passive resistance to the execution of orders given, committed by three or more people gathered together, promotes, organizes, or leads a revolt shall be punished with imprisonment from one to six years.
For merely participating in the revolt, the penalty is imprisonment from one to four years. If the act is committed using weapons, the penalty is imprisonment from two to eight years. If someone is killed or suffers serious or grievous bodily harm during the revolt, the penalty is imprisonment from ten to twenty years.
The penalties outlined in the fourth section also apply if the injury or death occurs immediately after the revolt and as a result of it.”