It was a challenging start to 2025 for the Italian government, which has been at the centre of both national and international discussions for weeks.

By Sofia Chirico | Mar 3 2025

The following significant events have occured under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government.

Security Bill:

In September 2024, the right-wing party Fratelli d’Italia proposed a series of bills allegedly aimed at increasing citizens’ security. The main points of the draft include: 

• Prohibiting immigrants from acquiring SIM cards unless they provide proof of address valid identification/ visa.
• Implementing castration for sex offenders
• Authorising detention for up to one month for any individual who causes disruption to traffic (roads and railways) during non-violent protests. This has been referred to as the “anti-grand” norm since it was first drafted. 
• Introducing detention for pregnant women or mothers of children under one year of age.
• Imposing a total ban on light cannabis. 
• Stipulating stable relationships between intelligence services, public authorities and institutions, requiring these institutions to alert intelligence services whenever an individual is classified as dangerous or subversive. 

The final provision is a significant source of concern and disagreement, especially among students. If the bill was passed, universities would be obligated to alert intelligence services as soon as a student or professor is deemed dangerous for being a part of a certain political party or expressing certain political views. The same could happen to any professor divulging “dangerous” and anti-government political views.

This bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and is currently awaiting parliamentary approval. However, on February 4 and 5 2025, Italian representatives and European politicians united in a powerful gesture when chanting the anthem of the Italian Resistance, ‘Bella Ciao’. 

Additionally, a series of protests have occurred across the country, as students and universities resist the threats to privacy and freedom of expression that the bill represents. Antigone, an organisation dedicated to human and civil rights, defined the bill as one of the most authoritarian measures in the history of Italian democracy and a serious attack on the rights to privacy and protest. 

ICC Document: 

In early February 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the Hague Tribunal, alleging that it aimed to harm the United States and Israel. This order proposed financial sanctions, the refusal of visas to all officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and their immediate families, as well as all any individual suspected of having connections with the ICC. Furthermore, the order would freeze all assets belonging to those affected. 

Out of the 125 members, 79 signed a joint condemnation of Trump’s sanctions. The document emphasises the importance of justice and offers hope to millions of victims of atrocities across the world in the name of human rights. EU countries—including France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Portugal—and the United Kingdom signed this document. Notably, Italy does not appear among those supporting such sanction. 

The Almasri Case: 

At the end of January 2025, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted a video on her social media announcing that she is currently under investigation for her role in the repatriation of Libyan General Nijeem Osama Almasri Hamish. 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Almasri, who had been travelling throughout various European countries during the month of January. He is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including torture, sexual violence, and homicide, allegedly perpetrated or coordinated at a prison in Tripoli, Libya, where he served as chief. The ICC states that Almasri is responsible for the deaths of at least 34 convicts and 22 additional individuals since 2015. 

Almasri was arrested in Turin, but after a few days he was released and flown back to Libya on a state flight provided by the Italian government. According to Italian law, the Court of Appeals in Rome should have detained Almasri in an Italian prison until further notice. Instead, he was released and repatriated on the orders of Matteo Piantedosi, a government minister of justice who is known for his close ties to Meloni. 

The release supposedly happened because Italian authorities classified him as a “dangerous individual,” thereby representing a serious threat to national security. However, the reason why he was not repatriated on a commercial flight, as is customary, remains unclear. 

Questions also remain as to why he was not detained despite the ICC warrant. Investigation into potential charges of aiding and abetting are ongoing  against Prime Minister Meloni, Minister of Justice Piantedosi, along with other involved ministers, including Alfredo Mantovano and Carlo Nordio.