17 October Movement: Siher accused of terrorism – investigations underway in Genoa into possible links with the Hamas network
The Digos considers the researcher to be the political mastermind behind the protest. A hearing to validate the arrest is due to take place in Milan today. Nine people were arrested and 87 reported to the authorities during the demonstrations on 24 October.
Key points
An ideologue capable of channelling public anger into a political project. This is the role that the Digos attributes to Youssef Siher, the 30-year-old researcher of Moroccan origin who has found himself at the centre of the investigation into the 17 October Movement. ‘The instigator, the agitator, the man who wanted to put a political stamp on a potentially dangerous movement’, is how the investigators describe him. An accusatory theory that weaves together antagonism, youth violence and digital propaganda. And a second, even more sensitive front is now opening up: the Genoa Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating possible links between the 30-year-old and the network of charitable organisations involved in the inquiry into alleged funding of Hamas. Siher is not under investigation in that case, but the inquiries are seeking to clarify whether any such links exist. Meanwhile, today the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking confirmation of the arrest carried out on Saturday 24 October, charging the researcher with incitement to commit a criminal offence, aggravated by the aim of terrorism, and organised violence at public demonstrations. These charges are awaiting the judge’s review and will have to be proven.
The strategy criticised by Youssef Siher
It all began with a network formed on social media following the violence that rocked the centre of Milan. In just a few days, the 17 October Movement has gathered over 48,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 9,500 subscribers on Telegram. Figures which, according to investigators, transform a spontaneous mobilisation into a tool potentially capable of influencing thousands of people.
Siher and his wife, a cultural mediator living in Como who is also under investigation, were reportedly running those platforms. He, who holds a degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Milan, is a researcher specialising in Islamic political movements. He works as a freelance journalist, contributes to national newspapers and is active in the pro-Palestinian movement.
A background that is a far cry from that of the young people involved in the clashes. Yet, according to the Digos’s account, it was precisely this contrast that made him a key figure: he provided political direction to a protest fuelled by a wide variety of participants.
Investigators accuse him of attempting to forge a link between the opposing factions and the so-called ‘maranza’, who are believed to have been behind the destruction of the previous week. He is not charged with looting or causing damage. His alleged role is said to have consisted of fuelling the mobilisation through digital channels, by circulating material and instructions likely to encourage further violent actions.
