Security Package to prevent return of political terrorism

The government is determined to prevent any return of political terrorism in Italy, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said on Thursday, presenting a new security package following violent anarchist riots in Turin that left around 100 police officers injured last weekend.

Speaking at a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Nordio said the measures were designed to stop a repeat of the violence associated with the Red Brigades. The Marxist group was responsible for a wave of attacks during the 1970s and 1980s, including the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former prime minister Aldo Moro.

“We are trying, through prevention, to ensure those sad moments never happen again,” Nordio said, referring both to the new decree and to the history of political violence during Italy’s so-called Years of Lead.

Nordio said the Red Brigades emerged partly because the state underestimated threats against law enforcement. He recalled how violence was often minimised at the time, citing phrases such as “comrades who are going wrong” and references to “so-called Red Brigades”, which he said downplayed the danger.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi rejected claims that the new security decree undermines the right to protest. He said the introduction of preventive detention ahead of demonstrations was not an attack on freedom of assembly.

“Preventive detention is not a measure that kills freedom,” Piantedosi said. He noted that similar measures exist in other legal systems and are subject to judicial oversight.