Protesters clashed with riot police in Bologna on Sunday after a 43-year-old man, Abderrahim Fakir, died following a violent arrest the previous day. Officers had sprayed Fakir with pepper spray and pinned him to the ground with the help of bystanders after a report of aggressive behaviour on 19 July. He was heard crying for help before becoming motionless.
The Italian public prosecutor has opened an investigation into two police officers and four healthcare workers over the death. Around two hundred people gathered in the city to protest and commemorate Fakir.
Tensions escalated in front of the prefecture, where demonstrators threw a paper bomb in Piazza Roosevelt and hurled protective panels torn from police vehicles. Officers responded with water cannons and tear gas. Chants of "murderers" were directed at the security forces as the crowd confronted a police cordon.