Italy: Youth killed by a police bullet
01 June 2000
Around midnight on 5 May Mourad Fikri, a 17 year old Moroccan youth, died on the banks of the Tiber in Rome after being shot by a policeman. The police initially claimed that Fikri had drowned after jumping in the river while being pursued for committing a petty crime. However an autopsy revealed that the bullet shot by an officer who was chasing the youth burst his right lung after bouncing off his shoulder blade, causing his death. The officer has not been suspended from duty and is being charged with criminally exceeding "legitimate self-defence".
Police claim that Mourad was holding a water pistol similar to one found near the scene of the shooting. Friends claim they never saw the toy gun and a fingerprints expert has asked for two months to provide a report. Simonetta Crisci, the Fikri family's lawyer said an eyewitness who was fleeing with Mourad told her that "the agent shot when the 2 youths had already jumped in the river". She added that such behaviour by people who are trained in the use of firearms is "very serious".
The eyewitness has not been called to testify, but is threatened with being charged for a mobile phone theft which had provoked the police operation. Following a report that a group of foreigners armed with a knife had stolen a mobile phone two hours earlier, a dozen police cars flooded the area outside the Villaggio Globale (Global Village) social centre in Testaccio, where immigrants often assemble. Several people fled, including Mourad, who was chased to the river bank and according to the autopsy, was then shot from behind.
On 9 May, 400 people led by Mourad's mother and sister, walked from Testaccio to the Ministry of Justice, holding torches and demanding truth and justice. In a statement the Villaggio Globale said:
"Here we go again, the forces of law and order's zeal in repressing what has been made into a major national emergency, that is, petty crime which is linked to the phenomenon of immigration, and has caused another victim... The anger over the death of a minor will stay with us, because we are convinced that in this case, those responsible will remain unpunished."
Villaggio Globale press statements 6 & 7.5.00; 11 Manifesto 10.5.00, 11 Messaggero 10.5.00; Avvenimenti 28.5.00.