Death of a man during a police stop in the Pilastro district of Bologna: tensions and an ongoing investigation

“From the block of flats,” the witness continued, “someone, having heard the screams coming from the garages, called the police.”

“The bodycam footage from the officers who attended the scene and recorded the operations will be made available to the judicial authorities immediately.” This is the statement issued by the Bologna Police Headquarters regarding the death of a foreign national in the Pilastro district of the city.

“Officers were called out following reports from members of the public who had spotted a person in a state of agitation and, in order to restrain the individual, were assisted by other members of the public, partly as a result of damage to a car. The officers also immediately called for assistance from the 118 emergency medical service, and following the containment operations carried out in the presence of the paramedics, the man died.” This is the statement issued by the Bologna Police Headquarters regarding the death in the Pilastro neighbourhood.

“I will not rest until my brother has been avenged. I will not rest.” These are the words of , the sister of Abderrahim Fakir, the man of Moroccan origin who died during a police stop.

The woman, along with the 43-year-old’s other brother, with whom he lived, watched in tears as the police carried out their investigation. “We don’t know what happened,” she continued, speaking to reporters, clearly shaken. “We don’t know what happened. They – the police – know what happened; all we know is that we received a call telling us he’d died. They handcuffed him and he died. They attacked him. They killed him and beat him up; there are witnesses.”

- A gathering is planned for this evening at 8.30 pm at the Pilastro to protest against what the relatives of Abderrahim Fakir – who died during a police operation in Via Svevo – describe as “a state-sanctioned murder”. On social media, following this morning’s events in the garage area at number 6, many people are sharing this call to gather at the corner of Via Svevo and Via Panzini, near the schools.

The Pilastro People’s Committee is also sharing the Fakir family’s initiative on social media. “We are calling for – as stated in a post by the committee, which was set up in Pilastro following the start of work on the Children’s Museum – a full investigation to establish who is responsible,” the post reads.

“I invite you all to join us tomorrow in Piazza Nettuno at 7 pm to stand together and come together, to show our solidarity with the Pilastro community at such a painful time. Let us come together to demand truth and justice regarding the death of Abderrahim Fakir, for a moment of remembrance and reflection, and to face this tragedy united, as Bologna knows how to do.” This was stated in a note by the Mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore.

“In addition to 9,000 people identified, 15 arrests and 42 reports filed, 49 removal orders, 80 foreign nationals taken to police headquarters and 7 undocumented migrants held at the CPR pending repatriation: these are some of the positive results of the two large-scale, high-impact operations carried out in the last few hours by the State Police in Rome (150 officers) and in Milan (“500 men and women from the State Police involved, plus 100 from the local police”).”

This was highlighted by the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, who wrote in a post on his social media profiles: “A massive deployment of personnel and resources in the capital covered the archaeological site of the Colosseum , the Imperial Forums, the underground station platforms, Colle Oppio Park and the surrounding streets.”

In Milan, the railway stations, the five metro lines, the routes of bus lines 90, 91, 92 and 95 and the area around the M4 Linate Airport stop.

Piantedosi concludes: “We will continue with determination to maintain a presence in the most vulnerable areas of our cities and to support the day-to-day work of the men and women in uniform, with a single aim: to ensure ever-greater levels of safety for the public.”

The Editorial Committee (CDR) of Tgr Emilia Romagna, together with Usigrai, ASER and FNSI, has criticised the channel’s management’s decision not to broadcast the original report – only part of the video was shown, without the journalist’s byline – in the evening edition of Tgr Emilia-Romagna concerning Abderrahim Fakir: ‘The management’s decision undermines the credibility and authority of Tgr and the public service broadcaster.’