Italy - June 2025

On 4 June, the Senate approved a security decree amending the penal code, criminalizing passive resistance, non-violent road blockages, and resisting police in prison or migrant centers. The decree also tightens control in prisons and migrant detention centers, classifying hunger strikes and sit-ins as potentially punishable acts. Protest-related road or railway blockages are now punishable by prison terms of up to six months. 

Presented by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as a vital step forward in the protection of vulnerable citizens and law enforcement, the decree has been widely condemned by critics as an excessive crackdown on civil disobedience and public assembly. International bodies, including the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and several UN Special Rapporteurs, expressed concern during the legislative process. The decree entered into effect on 10 June.

Sources: International IDEA, Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, Euractiv, Human Rights Center Antonio Papisca, Council of Europe