The far-right Italian Brothers of Italy party, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, presented a bill this Thursday to reformulate the crime of torture, especially with regard to law enforcement officers, before the opposition criticized it.
The bill has been submitted to the Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to kick-start the parliamentary process, according to local media.
In response to criticism for wanting to change such a sensitive crime, party spokesman Tommaso Foti said in a statement that the intention is not to withdraw it, but “to characterize it in a clearer way, in accordance with international conventions” about this subject.
The text proposes to amend an important part of Article 613 of the Italian Penal Code, which since 2017 includes the crime of torture and a series of aggravating circumstances in the case of, for example, police interrogation.
The article provides for a prison term of up to 10 years for anyone who “causes by force or grave threats, or acting with cruelty, physical suffering or acute psychological trauma to a person deprived of personal liberty or in custody” of his alleged torturer. .
The felony increases the sentence to 12 years if the perpetrator is a government agency abusing its power, while the sentence is increased to 30 years in prison in case of death.
Italy’s far right, both Meloni’s party and that of his partner and Vice President Matteo Salvini, the Lega, have criticized this legislation as they believe it harms law enforcement.
The initiators of this bill justified it on the basis of the need to “adequately protect the honor and image of the police services”.
In addition, they believe that legislation already exists to cover these cases and that this article is “contradictory” and could harm officers in “lawful public order operations.”
The text has been heavily criticized by the centre-left opposition, which has denounced its possible withdrawal.
“The proposal of the Brothers of Italy to reverse torture is shocking. Let Meloni say something: does your government and your party want to attack a law in defense of human rights?” asked Senate Democratic spokeswoman Simona Malpezzi.
The loudest response came from Greens and Left Alliance senator Ilaria Cucchi, the sister of Stefano Cucchi, a young man who died in 2009 from beatings he received while in police custody.
The activist described the bill as a “very serious event” and called for the intervention of the head of state, Sergio Mattarella.
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Source: DN
