17 October Movement: Siher accused of terrorism. Telegram accounts emptied; speculation about chats on Signal

The most serious charge relates to Article 270-bis, first paragraph, of the Criminal Code, which punishes anyone who promotes, establishes, organises, directs or finances associations aimed at carrying out violent acts for terrorist purposes or with the aim of subverting the democratic order. The penalty provided for ranges from seven to fifteen years’ imprisonment.

This is a particularly serious legal charge, which must, however, be substantiated by the evidence gathered by the investigators. Membership of a protest movement, managing a social media page and even the dissemination of radical messages do not, in themselves, prove the existence of a terrorist organisation. It will be necessary to ascertain the conduct attributed to the 30-year-old and to verify whether all the elements required by law are present.

The investigation also involves the researcher’s wife, a 32-year-old intercultural mediator of Lebanese origin, who is under investigation alongside her husband for incitement to commit a criminal offence.

According to the investigators, both are believed to have managed the Instagram and Telegram pages of the 17 October Movement. Indeed, it was the woman’s mobile phone that proved decisive in tracking down Siher on Saturday morning: the 30-year-old had switched off his phone and could not be located. The investigators are said to have managed to track him down via his wife’s device.

Born and raised in Como, where she is registered as a resident, the woman describes herself on social media as ‘Lebanese, Palestinian and Arab by identity’. The couple are said to have married last September and are believed to be living in the province of Milan, despite having different registered addresses: he in Mazzano, in the Brescia area, and she in Como.

Meanwhile, the protest movement appears to have ground to a halt, at least on its main public platform. The day after the police operation, the ‘17 October Movement’ Telegram channel presents an almost surreal picture: the chat rooms are still there, but the conversations have ceased. Everywhere, the same message appears: ‘Topic closed’. No discussion, no new exchanges. All that remains is the echo of a protest that was announced but never got off the ground.

Siher’s arrest is said to have alarmed the other directors, whose names had already been published on Telegram channels linked to far-right groups, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore.

But silence does not necessarily mean the movement has disappeared. According to rumours circulating in radical circles, new dedicated chat groups are reportedly being set up on Signal, an app that protects communications through end-to-end encryption.

It is not yet possible to determine who is running these potential new groups, what their connection is to the 17 October Movement, and whether they truly represent a continuation of the original network.

After all, the Telegram channel also attracted a diverse audience, which cannot be identified as a whole with criminal or terrorist circles. Participation in an online discussion, even a particularly radical one, does not automatically entail any criminal liability. It is one thing to engage in potentially unlawful individual conduct; it is quite another to be part of a digital community where differing views are expressed.