Italy Protests Erupt After Man Dies During Police Restraint in Bologna

The Prime Minister of Italy has condemned protesters in the northern city of Bologna after dozens of police officers were injured. Thousands of people took to the streets last night after a man died whilst being restrained. Here's our international correspondent Alex Rossi. The anger on the streets of Bologna is intense. Protesters clashing with police in the central piazza. These violent demonstrations were sparked by the death of a man who was being restrained by police. The images of that incident are disturbing.

This video was filmed by a local resident and shows Moroccan-born Abderrahim Fatihi's final moments. The 42-year-old man was restrained after claims he was being aggressive. He's face down and clearly in distress as officers straddle him. He calls out for help and several punches are thrown. He can then be seen lying motionless as paramedics watch on. His family claim he was killed in cold blood and comparisons are being made to the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020.

They are demanding justice. He was handcuffed at the hands and feet with his legs here around his neck and they sprayed him with pepper spray right in his mouth. Believe me, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. He was the only brother I had and they took him away from me. This is not a dignified death. Opposition politicians are now calling for accountability. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued this statement on social media regarding the death of Abderrahim Fatihi. It is imperative that any potential responsibilities are thoroughly investigated with the utmost rigor. The truth must be pursued to the very end without prejudice and without leniency for anyone. But nothing can justify violence against law enforcements.

The police officers are being investigated and body cam footage will be released. But the atmosphere remains highly charged with many demonstrators already convinced excessive force was used. Nice. I knew it was in the United States, but I did not know it was in Italy as well. We believe that what happened was a genuine murder with the police sitting on top of Fikri and holding him down. The key question now is whether the promise of a transparent investigation will be enough to stop these protests from spreading across Italy and becoming a national issue.

Alex Rossi, Sky News. Let's just show you some more of those images coming in from the northern city of Bologna. As you can see there, the protests gathered as well as the police officers pushing the protesters back there. But there has been a lot of anger in Bologna there and the police trying to restrain the demonstrators. But you can see right police out on the streets there in force. Obviously, as we saw there in Alex's report, the death of a Moroccan man, a 42-year-old Moroccan man in police custody, sparks these protests.