Is it a crime or not? And if so, when? The Roman salute “falls within the criminal scope of the Mancino law when it constitutes a concrete danger to public order”. Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor Pietro Gaeta claims this in his speech today before the joint divisions of the supreme court. The judge asked for the approval of the decision of the Milan appeals court, which condemned some representatives of the far-right movement for writing fascist salutes at the memorial.
The Milan case in particular revolves around a commemoration ceremony held in the city in 2016 in memory of Sergio Ramelli, a 19-year-old student and Youth Front militant who was killed following an attack by a group of Labor pioneers in 1975. From there, a lawsuit was filed against eight people who responded to the cry of “present” with a Roman salute. In order to unravel the knot of interpretation regarding the Roman salute, in September 2023, after the first criminal chamber transmitted documents, the joint divisions of the Supreme Court were summoned to consider the issue. The participants were acquitted in the first instance court and convicted in the second instance court; Therefore, it was decided to go to the Supreme Court.
When is the Roman salute a crime?
This afternoon, after the prosecutor’s indictment, the joint criminal chambers of the Supreme Court, summoned to resolve the matter, may announce the sentence: this may perhaps be a definitive answer on the matter. In the Supreme Court’s assessment, there are possible violations of two laws: the Mancino law and the Scelba law. The first, introduced in 1993 during the Ciampi government, is named after the then Minister of Internal Affairs Nicola Mancino, who proposed it: it approves and condemns, on the basis of racial, ethnic, expressions, gestures, actions and slogans that promote hatred, violence and discrimination. Religious or national reasons. However, the latter in 1952 implemented the crime of apologizing to fascism, that is, a series of actions and behaviors aimed at the restructuring of the fascist party.
“Acca Larentia is something different”
The age-old question has been reignited in recent days following a controversial demonstration commemorating the Acca Larentia massacre in Rome. The representative of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals underlined that “the Acca Larentia case involving 5 thousand people is something different than four nostalgic people seeing each other in front of a tombstone in a provincial cemetery.” One of them raises his arm. “We must distinguish between the purpose of commemoration and the potential danger to public order.”
“Our judicial democracy is strong and knows how to distinguish,” Attorney General Gaeta added. “It is clear that the fascist salute is contrary to individual sensibility,” but it becomes a crime “when it constitutes a concrete danger to public order.” We cannot give half-baked sentences where the same group is acquitted by the court and the same group is convicted by the court. another”.
In other words, as the Supreme Court prosecutor explained today, we need to distinguish between simple “four nostalgic commemorations in front of one grave” and provocative demonstrations that pose a danger to public order. However, regardless of the desire to re-establish the fascist party, this action can be considered a crime. To date, the Supreme Court’s decisions have been contradictory because the line between crime or “lawful act” is so thin that analysis of context becomes essential: some cases have resulted in acquittal, others in conviction. the defendant. In the past, when the Roman salute was evaluated solely in relation to the application of the Scelba law, acquittal was always given: it is difficult to show that the extended arm alone led to the re-establishment of the fascist party.
Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
