DUBAI: Clashes broke out in Bologna on Monday after protests over the death of Moroccan-born man Abderrahim Fakir during a police intervention, with Italian authorities facing calls for accountability over both the incident and the unrest that followed.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that a demonstration held after Fakir’s death descended into violence, with clashes reported in the city center. The Autonomous Police Union (SAP) said more than 50 officers were injured during the unrest.
“Mayor Matteo Lepore must take full responsibility for the devastation and the more than 50 injured among the police,” SAP Secretary-General Stefano Paoloni said, criticizing the decision to organize the demonstration.
Paoloni said the public’s grief over Fakir’s death was understandable but warned against actions that could fuel hostility toward police.
The protests followed the death of Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan-born entrepreneur who ran a removals and cleaning business, during a police intervention in Bologna’s Pilastro district on Sunday.
