Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
ROME – A direct and unqualified attack on the decision by the Milan judiciary. In a fiery intervention posted on her official X channels, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed the case of Youssef Zikher, accused of running the Telegram channel Movimento 17 Ottobre, which investigators believe was used to incite and organise demonstrations that degenerated into violence and vandalism in Milan.
The decision by the preliminary investigations judge at the Milan Court not to uphold the man’s arrest triggered a fierce reaction from the prime minister.
Meloni on X: “a shameful decision that humiliates the investigators”
Her words convey deep opposition to a judicial ruling she sees as penalising those who work on the ground to protect public safety:
“I will put it bluntly. I consider it shameful that the preliminary investigations judge in Milan did not uphold the arrest of Youssef Zikher, accused of managing the Telegram channel Movimento 17 Ottobre – the very channel that incited the organisation of those demonstrations we then saw lead to the devastation of several businesses in Milan.
I believe this is an unbearable humiliation of the work of the police, the investigators, the Interior Ministry and, in general, everyone who strives to defend decent people from the risk of seeing their cities and businesses devastated.”
Una decisione vergognosa https://t.co/8FqtPeTdiH
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) October 28, 2026
Rift with the judiciary: “impossible to defend citizens this way”
The prime minister ends her broadside by questioning the protections for the shopkeepers and citizens hit by urban unrest and stressing the open conflict between the executive and certain judicial decisions:
“And I truly do not know how a normal state can defend decent people in the face of these decisions by parts of the judiciary.”
Meloni’s statement abruptly reopens the institutional clash over responsibilities and the limits of precautionary measures linked to public order and violent demonstrations in major urban centres.
Key phrases
-giorgia-meloni-post-x-gip-milano-arresto-youssef-zikher- -movimento-17-ottobre-telegram-devastazione-milano-2026- -reazione-premier-meloni-scarcerazione-gestore-telegram- -scontro-governo-magistratura-ordine-pubblico-milano- -cronaca-nazionale-28-ottobre-dichiarazioni-meloni-x-
Tags
Giorgia Meloni, Government, Milan, Judiciary, Police, Telegram, Movimento 17 Ottobre, Public Order, National News, Sicilia Da Vivere
