Security decree has sparked protests in Italy.
A controversial bill known as the Security Decree ushered in by Italy’s right-wing coalition government was passed definitively by the Italian senate on Wednesday.
Approved by the lower house last week, the decree was passed in the senate with 109 votes in favour, 69 against and one abstention.
The vote was taken after a protest by senators from opposition centre-left parties who sat on the floor of the chamber shouting “Shame, shame”.
The decree, which clamps down on protesters and enhances legal protections for security forces, was introduced by premier Giorgia Meloni as part of “a promise for a safer Italy”.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Meloni hailed the newly passed decree as a “decisive step to strengthen the protection of citizens, the most vulnerable groups and our men and women in uniform”.
Con l’approvazione definitiva del Decreto Sicurezza al Senato, il Governo compie un passo decisivo per rafforzare la tutela dei cittadini, delle fasce più vulnerabili e dei nostri uomini e donne in divisa.
Interveniamo con determinazione contro le occupazioni abusive,… pic.twitter.com/hDHM1XSW8e— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 4, 2025
The decree includes measures such as increasing penalties for attacks on law enforcement officers, stricter penalties for fraud against the elderly, and legally protecting the rights of security forces.
The wide-ranging legislative package imposes harsher penalties for protests, passive resistance, the blocking of roads and squatting, as well as facilitating the swift eviction of illegally occupied properties, banning “cannabis light” and clamping down on subway pickpockets who use pregnancy as an excuse to avoid prison sentences.
In a post on X, Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi hailed the decree as a “strategic measure” which introduces “new and effective tools to strengthen the fight against crime and terrorism, guarantee greater protection for citizens, especially the most vulnerable, and enhance the daily work of our law enforcement agencies”.
The bill has sparked protests across Italy in recent months, amid strong criticism from civil rights groups and opposition parties who accuse the government of criminalising dissent, limiting civil liberties and curtailing the right to protest.
Photo credit: Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com.
