Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
BRUSSELS / PALERMO – Institutional and political reactions continue after the funeral of Emanuele Rubino, the 36-year-old with previous convictions for extortion and attempted murder whose funeral procession passed through the streets of central Palermo amid fireworks, firecrackers and scooter stunts.
On the matter, the Five Star Movement MEP and former president of the Nebrodi Park, Giuseppe Antoci, spoke directly from Brussels, describing the episode as an act of open and explicit defiance of democratic institutions.
Giuseppe Antoci’s remarks: “Shutters down in Ballarò”
For the MEP, the manner in which the 36-year-old’s remains were accompanied represents a cultural and social alarm signal that cannot be underestimated:
“They challenged the state. The funeral procession through the streets of Palermo to mark the funeral of Emanuele Rubino, sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder and definitively for extortion aggravated by mafia methods, is an unacceptable provocation against the Italian state and its laws.”
Antoci then emphasised the emotional and omertà-laden response recorded in some areas of the historic centre of the Sicilian capital during the passage of the coffin:
“It is regrettable to note that in 2026 there is still a large section of the population publicly expressing solidarity with someone convicted of such crimes: this is shown by the dozens of shutters lowered in mourning in the Ballarò district. The natural grief at the loss of a citizen cannot turn into a celebration of acts and methods contrary to the law. Absolute clarity must be established on the dynamics of what happened.”
