Crime news
Crime news
“Siher Could Flee Abroad. His Is a Declaration of War,” Prosecutors Say
The 30-year-old faces a detention hearing in Milan. Prosecutors allege he helped prepare protesters for clashes with police.
MILAN — Youssef Siher, the 30-year-old creator of the “October 17 Movement” group, is due to appear before a judge today for a hearing that will determine whether he remains in custody. Held in the high-security wing of Milan’s San Vittore prison since his arrest late Saturday night or early Sunday, he will meet for the first time with the prosecutor from Milan’s district anti-terrorism unit, who accuses him of inciting thousands of people to take part in violent protests against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government.
Judge Tiziana Landoni is expected to rule by tomorrow on whether Siher should remain behind bars. It is not known whether the Brescia native, who is represented by attorney Yasmine Abu Sharar, will maintain his silence or respond to the allegations. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated incitement to commit a crime for terrorist purposes and organized violence at public demonstrations.
“Although there are no direct references to acts of destruction and looting, the appeals contained in the various posts clearly evoke the violent intent behind the ‘protests’ organized by the suspect,” Milan Prosecutor Marcello Viola and Assistant Prosecutor Francesca Crupi wrote in their request for pretrial detention. The demonstrations, they argued, “would certainly not have been peaceful,” but would instead have emulated those of October 17. They also pointed to the fact that the events were not authorized and that protesters had allegedly been told to prepare for clashes with law enforcement.
Prosecutors argue that detention is the only measure capable of preventing Siher from acting on what they describe as a continuing “declaration of war,” allegedly intended to instill deep fear in the public and destabilize the normal course of civil life.
According to the prosecution, Siher and his wife, Sagia Hammoud, who is also under investigation, had been providing detailed instructions on organizing demonstrations since at least October 23, the day before the planned protests. The instructions allegedly covered strategies for evading police checkpoints, moving through the streets and gathering at designated locations.
Investigators allege that Siher knowingly provided logistical and organizational support to activists whose intentions he understood to be violent, coordinating communications and managing a network of groups prone to clashes.
So far, investigations by Milan’s mobile police squad, cybercrime unit and Digos, the police branch responsible for domestic security and counterterrorism, have reportedly found no links to the pro-Russian hacker collective NoName057(16).
Prosecutors describe Siher as having “a particular criminal aptitude,” alleging that he used his extensive academic background and connections with protest movements, trade unions and social centers to advance his activities. They say he relied on his wife, a 32-year-old cultural mediator from Como whom he met through their shared involvement in the Milan chapter of the Young Palestinians of Italy movement, to manage and circulate messages calling for a permanent mobilization against the Meloni government.
“An ongoing media lynching against them is diverting attention from the rising cost of living,” the organization said in a statement expressing solidarity with the couple.
Investigators also seized Hammoud’s mobile phone. Neither she nor her husband has provided the passcode needed to unlock their devices, and the contents of both phones remain unknown.
© All rights reserved.
