Rome, 27 July (LaPresse) – “Our task is not to decide who may have committed a crime that day at Il Pilastro. Our task is to stand by the victims, to demand that all necessary investigations be carried out – not in 46 years, not in 10 years – because a family has the right to truth and justice within a reasonable timeframe, within a realistic timeframe. And that is why the victims’ families must not be left alone, because being alone is something you wouldn’t wish on anyone, not even your most detested political opponent. That is why it is important to face the truth head-on.” So said the Mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore, speaking in the City Council regarding the case of Abderrahim Fakir, a 43-year-old man who died in Bologna during a police operation. Regarding the public gathering organised just a few hours after the incident, Lepore said he had asked the city “to take part in a non-violent manner, to stand alongside the family, and we decided to do so by giving a voice to the victims – to the niece in particular – rather than to politicians or institutional representatives”. “We did so in a square filled with thousands of people. That is why I believe it was right to attend a rally and take part in it, just as so many Bolognese did. And I find it highly manipulative that our city is being portrayed in a way that differs from its true identity, from its strong democratic spirit. Those who do so either do not know Bologna or perhaps believe that disparaging it is far more important than helping it to uncover truth and justice,” Lepore added.
Fakir’s death: Lepore says, “The family has the right to the truth as soon as possible”
Rome, 27 July (LaPresse) – “Our task is not to decide who may have committed a crime that day at Il Pilastro. Our task is to stand by the victims, to demand that all necessary investigations be carried out – not in 46 years, not in 10 years – because a family has the right to truth and justice within a reasonable timeframe, within a realistic timeframe. And that is why the victims’ families must not be left alone, because being alone is something you wouldn’t wish on anyone, not even your most detested political opponent. That is why it is important to face the truth head-on.” So said the Mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore, speaking in the City Council regarding the case of Abderrahim Fakir, a 43-year-old man who died in Bologna during a police operation. Regarding the public gathering organised just a few hours after the incident, Lepore said he had asked the city “to take part in a non-violent manner, to stand alongside the family, and we decided to do so by giving a voice to the victims – to the niece in particular – rather than to politicians or institutional representatives”. “We did so in a square filled with thousands of people. That is why I believe it was right to attend a rally and take part in it, just as so many Bolognese did. And I find it highly manipulative that our city is being portrayed in a way that differs from its true identity, from its strong democratic spirit. Those who do so either do not know Bologna or perhaps believe that disparaging it is far more important than helping it to uncover truth and justice,” Lepore added.
