Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan man, died in police custody in Bologna on Sunday after officers restrained him face-down, footage shows him saying he cannot breathe before falling still. The incident, drawing comparisons to the 2020 killing of George Floyd in the US, has sparked protests and a political firestorm in Italy.

Protests erupted Sunday night and resumed Monday evening in central Bologna, with demonstrators hurling firecrackers, bottles and chairs at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. The Italian Coordination of Police Officers reported 56 officers injured.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking on Tuesday, pledged a fair investigation but accused demonstrators of seeking ‘confrontation’ rather than ‘truth’, according to Al Jazeera. ‘Those who chose to use this incident as a pretext to lay waste to the city, attack officers and spread violence … were not seeking the truth: they were seeking confrontation,’ Meloni declared. She added that ‘any responsibilities’ must ‘be ascertained with the utmost rigour’ and that the truth must be pursued ‘without prejudice and without leniency toward anyone.’

Meloni’s framing has been criticized as victim-blaming: a man died while restrained by officers, yet she attacks protesters. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said he had ‘full confidence’ the inquiry would establish the facts, telling daily Il Messaggero that officers deserve the same ‘presumption of innocence’ as any other citizen.

Members of the populist right-wing governing coalition have defended the officers involved, while opposition politicians criticized the government’s handling and claimed its policies promote violence. Centre-left legislator Francesco Boccia warned against Italy adopting an ‘ICE model’ of policing, referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which has been involved in several killings of protesters.

Lawyer Barbara Spinelli, who met Fakir last year when he applied to renew his residency permit, told ANSA news agency that he was ‘a very kind, well-educated, respectful person’ who had worried about being expelled from Italy despite living there legally.

The case highlights ongoing tensions in Italy over policing and migration policies, with the Global South facing disproportionate scrutiny in European law enforcement.