From now on, protesters could face prison sentences for blocking roads during climate protests in Italy. Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's government has proposed a new security law that would ban several forms of protest. This also applies to peaceful demonstrations.
The bill has been passed by Italy's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, and has now been sent to the upper house, the Senate. Critics have dubbed the bill the "anti-Gandhi law" after India's former leader Mahatma Gandhi, who was known for his pacifism.
The law is specifically aimed at the protests that could come against two major planned infrastructure projects. One project is a new high-speed train link from Turin in northern Italy to Lyon in southern France. The other major project is a bridge across the Strait of Messina from Italy's "toe" to the island of Sicily in southern Italy.
Italy's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, is a strong advocate for the two projects. He has also previously defended petrol cars and spoken out against what he calls "climate terrorism". Salvini's criticism has been particularly directed at the young members of the Last Generation climate movement.
Penalty of up to two years
If the new law is finally adopted, blocking a road outside the permitted route of a demonstration could result in up to two years in prison. Today, the penalty is a fine of between 1,000 and 4,000 euros.
Opponents of the right-wing government see the bill as an attempt to silence critics. Salvini has rejected criticism that Italy is developing into a "police state".
- Good people have nothing to fear, he says.
The bill will also mean, among other things, that inmates can be punished for protesting about their conditions in Italy's prisons. This also applies to so-called passive resistance, where an inmate, for example, ignores an order.
- The security law is a real attack on democracy and the rule of law, says the green left-wing alliance.
The opposition party Five Star Movement calls it a "deeply repressive measure that has the express purpose of discouraging political and social dissent". In the center-left More Europe party, Secretary General Riccardo Magi has called the bill "ideological madness".
/ritzau/AFP
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