Case: Preventive Measures

Following the rave party that took place between October 30th and November 2nd, 2021, near Turin, the Police Headquarters and the Prefecture implemented a repressive and punitive response, which included the use of "police" measures such as the exclusion order from the Municipality of Turin and some neighboring municipalities, with a ban on re-entry for a period ranging from one to three years. For foreign citizens (both EU and non-EU), there was also the expulsion from the national territory with a ban on returning to Italy for a period of three years.

StraLi, particularly its Security and Prevention Measures department, is assisting Lawyer Nicolò Bussolati in appealing to the ordinary court and the Regional Administrative Court against the measures that affected some individuals identified in the days following the rave.

The justifications underlying these measures are mainly the participation in the rave (although the individuals were identified outside the event area) and, based on information from the DIGOS (Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni Speciali), the possibility that the recipients of these measures could potentially "support the anarchist movement in carrying out violent disturbances during the planned procession on November 6th."

StraLi believes that these measures are unjust, arbitrary, and adopted in disregard of legal requirements. The use of such severely restrictive tools on individual freedom (even preventing their return to Italy for three years) cannot be based on criteria such as participation in a (even illegal) party or the fear of involvement in a political demonstration. According to StraLi, all of this represents an abusive use of public power that takes on a dystopian flavor, reminiscent of Orwellian and predictive policing scenarios.

These tools do not require prior judicial control and can be adopted by the Prefecture and Police Headquarters without significant effort, without initially ensuring compliance with legal requirements. Resorting to legal authorities is long, laborious, and expensive, and often the recipients do not have the means to do so. Therefore, these measures are the perfect tool for a "police" control of society since they easily and quickly eradicate "undesirable" individuals from the territory. This is not the kind of State we want.

Unfortunately, the individuals we are assisting are not the only ones who have undergone this treatment, and we know that the abusive use of preventive and security measures is a widespread practice. However, we believe that these cases can represent strategic examples.

We hope that through them, we can obtain rulings that recognize the illegitimacy of these measures, compelling public authorities to use such tools in compliance with the fundamental rights of individuals, including the right to freedom of movement, to which the Police Headquarters and the Prefecture are subject and must remember to adhere to.