New offence of apologia for the mafia: penalties also on song lyrics

From song lyrics to the Messina Denaro style, from the 'bows' in religious processions to the grand style of funerals. All conducts to be sanctioned at least in the future, when a new crime of opinion, the apology of organised crime and mafia will be in force. And the introduction of the new crime, sanctioned with prison for up to three years and a fine of up to 10,000 euro, is the subject of a bill, drafted by Pierantonio Zanettin (Forza Italia), whose discussion has already begun in the Senate's Justice Committee.

A measure destined to cause discussion, as is usually the case with those that intervene in such a delicate matter as crimes of opinion, and that starts from the assumption that behaviour or events of latent support for exponents of organised crime are removed from the criminal area to be confined to the sphere of reprobation or social alarm.

Hence the proposal to introduce a new offence into the criminal code, classified under number 416 bis.2, immediately downstream therefore of the proverbial determination of the mafia association, crystallised in 416 bis, to strike 'anyone who publicly extols principles, facts or methods peculiar to the organised crime of the mafia type or persons convicted of the offences referred to in Article 416 bis or re-proposes acts or conduct thereof, with unequivocal apologetic intent'.

Where, to anchor a few useful examples to better understand what the supporters of the measure have in mind, the obligatory reference is to the report accompanying the text. There is room there for a series of behaviours that they would like to punish: first of all the 'bows' in front of the residences of people linked to the underworld during religious processions, the pompous funerals of local bosses, the construction of altars and monuments in memory of people linked to the organised or mafia underworld, the publication of messages on digital platforms ('it has not infrequently happened that what is depicted in a viral TikTok video has been realised in real life, especially among young people and in working-class neighbourhoods').

Not only that, but also 'song lyrics, which contain explicit messages glorifying the underworld and organised crime, by glorifying figures or episodes linked to them' and the Messina Denaro style, the tendency to wear clothes similar to those used by boss Matteo Messina Denaro at the time of his arrest, which some traders have also revived online or through social networks, are also in the crosshairs.