Over thirty protesters have been identified, while the Turin Prefecture has issued instructions to provide increased security to the offices of several newspapers, the day after the attack on La Stampa . Condemnations for the incident and bipartisan solidarity have continued since the news broke, beginning with the President of the Republic and Prime Minister Sergio Mattarella and Giorgia Meloni, followed by the leaders of the majority and opposition: from the presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, Ignazio La Russa and Lorenzo Fontana, to the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, and the president of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte. The same applies to the heads of local institutions, including Mayor Stefano Lo Russo, and the President of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio.
A condemnation shared by jurist Francesca Albanese, who added, however, "At the same time, this should also be a warning to the press to get back to doing their job." Her clarification sparked much controversy, so much so that later that evening, from the stage at the pro-Pal demonstration in Rome, she reiterated that "there was no slip-up, shame on you. All I've said and continue to say is that I condemn violence and I condemn yesterday's attack on La Stampa."
What happened yesterday afternoon is therefore the subject of much reflection, as well as investigation. Young protesters effortlessly scaled gates, after throwing smoke bombs and ripping out the external video surveillance cameras, and ransacked an editorial office. Many were masked and threw stacks of books into the air, ripped up newspapers, overturned chairs, and spray-painted the interior walls, writing slogans against journalists, calling for a free Palestine, and demanding the revocation of the expulsion order for an imam from Turin, Mohamed Shahin. All this happened in a quarter of an hour, at the hands of a group of about a hundred people who broke away from the ongoing demonstration on the day of the general strike, while the newspaper's headquarters was essentially empty due to the industry strike. The protesters, dumping manure on the steps, then scaled the gates again and fled, just as police vans arrived on the scene.
"We even have a safety button that closes the fire doors," explained the newspaper's editor, Andrea Malaguti, "but we didn't use it; evidently we didn't have time. They shouted 'Terrorist journalist, you're first on the list,' and to someone who tried to film them, even 'Journalist, I'll kill you.' In short, there was this very explicit aggression, even though they could have done a lot more damage, because there were computers there, which they didn't touch," he said, announcing Gedi's presence in the editorial office tomorrow, along with John Elkann and president Paolo Ceretti, "to reiterate the perennial need for pluralism and freedom that we demand." Among the names of the protesters identified by the Turin DIGOS investigation, including through video footage, are so far activists from the Askatasuna social center and the student collectives Collettivo universitario autonomo and Kollettivo studentesco autoorganizzato, both of which are linked to the social center.
Among them was the sixteen-year-old who was arrested and handcuffed in front of Einstein High School during clashes between left-wing and right-wing students. "Several times, during the course of serving judicial documents, it was discovered that inside Askatasuna there were still individuals who had been subject to security measures by the judicial authorities for violent activities," noted Turin Prefect Donato Cafagna. "Therefore, it is likely necessary to ensure consistency in the decisions made regarding that location."
The prefect convened a Committee for Public Order and Safety, speaking of "a qualitative leap in violence by these antagonistic groups" and the need for "strong and coordinated prevention efforts." It was decided, he announced, to "strengthen the presence, including on a permanent basis, particularly at RAI and La Stampa, and actively at other locations," specifying that yesterday "there was a violent plot, which was not part of the main demonstration."
(Unioneonline)