Young radicals accused of attacking dozens of Milan police officers during an anti-Israel demonstration in September will avoid punishment after a judge ruled it may interfere with their studies.
Upwards of 60 police officers were injured in the Italian city during clashes with far-left Antifa and pro-Palestine activists at the September 22 protest against the Gaza war.
The local Corriere della Sera newspaper reported at the time that the militants attacked officers with stones, glass bottles, dug up cobblestones, trash cans and bicycles.
The protesters also did significant damage to public property, including Milan’s Central, Porta Garibaldi, and Rogoredo train stations.
However, despite the seriousness of the charges against the eight agitators accused of involvement in the mayhem, Milan Judge Giulia D’Antoni ruled this week that none of the defendants should face jail time, or even be ordered to remain under house arrest, as requested by prosecutor Francesca Crupi, Il Tempo reports.
Judge D’Antoni said that she made the decision “taking into account the young age of the suspects” — all of whom were between the ages of 20 and 30-years-old.
She further said that house arrest would be an “excessive” punishment, given that it would prevent the defendants from pursuing their “training and study paths”.
The judge went on to say that “despite the gravity of the facts having emerged and been underlined”, the actions on the day of the protest should not define their persons, arguing that it was not the “habit” of the protesters to commit violence, but that they merely were swept up in the heat of the moment.
“The excitement of the moment, the enthralling tumult of the crowd, the pursuit of a deeply felt motivation” would have “led them to consider even violent reactions justifiable” against the police, the judge wrote in her decision.
Judge D’Antoni said that the eight suspects had “exceeded the limits for the protection of public order and safety” as they engaged in an “expression of violence and rebellion” to fulfil their “desire to affirm ideals”.
The decision not to impose jailtime or house arrest came despite the judge admitting that the defendants were likely to re-offend, given that they often take part in protests involving “geopolitical issues” such as “the Palestinian cause”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni previously condemned those involved in the Milan unrest, denouncing the “self-proclaimed ‘pro-Pal’ individuals, self-proclaimed ‘Antifa’ members, self-proclaimed ‘pacifists’ who wreak havoc on the train station and provoke clashes with law enforcement.”
“Violence and destruction that have nothing to do with solidarity and that will not change a single thing in the lives of people in Gaza, but will have concrete consequences for Italian citizens, who will end up suffering and paying for the damages caused by these thugs.”
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