The death of Abderrahim Fakir42 years old, occurred Sunday 19 July during a police intervention in the neighborhood Pillar of Bologna, is at the center of an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office which will have to clarify the causes of death and verify the correctness of the procedures adopted during the operation. A video shot by a resident and released by the family shows the man’s last minutes as he is pinned to the ground by officers. The images made a strong impression and fueled the request to shed full light on what happened.
The call to the police and the intervention
According to the reconstruction provided by the Bologna Police Headquarters, it all began shortly after midday in the Pilastro district, between via Italo Svevo and via Alfredo Panzini. Some residents call the police reporting the presence of one person “in flames”. The officers arrive around 12.15pm and, according to the official note from the Police Headquarters, they also immediately request the intervention of 118. The Police Headquarters itself reports that, during the containment operations, the policemen were helped by some citizens, even after a car was damaged. There are currently no definitive reconstructions regarding what happened in the minutes before the immobilization.
Abderrahim Fakir’s sister during the demonstration for her brother at Pilastro in Bologna
(HANDLE)
The video and the last minutes of Abderrahim Fakir
The video, shot from above by a resident, documents the final phase of the intervention. Fakir is seen lying on the ground in a prone position, with two officers immobilizing him while a civilian holds his ankles. For over two minutes the man screams and asks for help. The 118 operators are also present around, having arrived on site in the meantime. Subsequently Fakir stops moving and shouting. The officers complete the securing of the wrists and ankles with cable ties. Shortly afterwards one of the policemen notices that the man is no longer reacting; then the paramedics intervene and turn him on his side. Despite rescue attempts, the 42-year-old was declared dead.
The intervention of the police in via Svevo in the Pilastro district of Bologna where Abderrahim Fakir died
(HANDLE)
The investigations: autopsy, bodycam and investigation by the Local Health Authority
The Bologna Prosecutor’s Office has opened a file and will arrange for an autopsy in the next few hours, which will have to clarify the causes of death. At the moment, no possible crimes have been disclosed nor are there any entries in the register of suspects. An important element for investigators will be the recordings of the bodycams worn by the police officers who intervened. The Police Headquarters announced that the videos will be made immediately available to the judicial authorities. In parallel too the Bologna Health Authority has launched an internal investigation to reconstruct the actions of the healthcare personnel present during the intervention. According to the chronology released by the ASL, the ambulance was sent at 12.17 and arrived on site at 12.30. At 12.36 the crew requested the support of a medical vehicle, which left the Maggiore hospital at 12.42 and arrived at 12.53, when the death was confirmed.
The road blocked due to the garrison of Abderrahim Fakir’s family members at Pilastro in Bologna
(HANDLE)
Several questions remain open
Among the aspects that will need to be clarified are Fakir’s health conditions. Some family members and acquaintances reported that he suffered from heart problems and asthma, but at the moment there is no official confirmation.
Furthermore, the man’s brother claims that stinging spray was also used in the mouth during the operation. This element will also have to be verified during the investigations. It will be the autopsy examination, together with the images of the bodycams, the testimonies of those present and the reports of the health workers, that will allow us to precisely reconstruct the sequence of events and ascertain whether the containment procedures were carried out according to the established protocols.
Who was Abderrahim Fakir
Abderrahim Fakir was born in Morocco and arrived in Italy at the age of seven with his family. He lived in Borgonuovo, in the municipality of Sasso Marconi, just outside Bologna. According to what his sister reported, he owned a company that dealt with porterage, removals and cleaning. At Pilastro he was visiting some friends.
Fists raised for the death of Abderrahim Fakir during the protest at the Pilastro in Bologna
(HANDLE)
The reactions of politicians
The affair immediately sparked political debate. The mayor of Bologna, Matteo Leporehas called a demonstration for Monday evening in Piazza Nettuno to express closeness to the Pilastro family and community and to ask for “truth and justice” regarding what happened. Requests for clarification addressed to the Minister of the Interior came from the opposition Matteo Piantedosi. Representatives of the Democratic Party, the Green-Left Alliance, the 5 Star Movement and +Europa have announced parliamentary questions, asking for full light to be shed on the methods of the intervention. The declarations of the majority are of the opposite sign. The group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber, Galeazzo Bignami, spoke of an intervention “conducted with professionalism and appropriate methods”, while the League expressed support for the agents, stating that “the police did their duty.”
Precisely for this reason, while the political debate intensifies, it will be the investigations of the judiciary, the autopsy and the analysis of the images recorded by the bodycams that will provide the necessary elements to establish precisely what happened in the 36 minutes that passed between the call for help and the confirmation of Abderrahim Fakir’s death.
