“The video was not provided by those who legitimately monitor public demonstrations for the purposes of having an overview of information that must be used according to the law.” She said it the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi on the video portraying judge Iolanda Apostolico. «On the subject of the dossiers – he added – there was a representation from the Catania Police Headquarters of the absence of any element that could make an expression of this type reasonable. I’m sorry it’s repeated even in the presence of a denial. It marks a prejudice towards the Police Headquarters and the police system that I don’t think they deserve.” «There was none of this – said Piantedosi -. It was a public demonstration and videos made by multiple people are popping up. Even if this is a dossier… If one wants to experience privacy, he is a little more concerned about participating in demonstrations.”
«There was a person who self-reported to the judicial authorities – added the minister – and it will be the judicial authority that will establish whether what happened complies with the law or whether it violates the law. I think we are wasting time on this topic, videos are popping up, and we are already on the third I think, even made by private individuals and news agencies regarding a public demonstration. It’s as if we were accusing the newspapers of having documents that showed a demonstration the other day by an important trade union. The police forces and the police headquarters do their duty well, clearly invoked by everyone, that of documenting what happens in the management of public order for various purposes, also to guarantee citizens but which in that case did not concern, as is been said publicly, nothing regarding this episode. Everything else is under the attention of the Catania judicial authority. Do we have confidence in the judicial authority of Catania?”.
«I don’t even have to have an idea of how the video reached a minister – Piantedosi highlighted – I know that it was a public demonstration and I don’t think so because invoking privacy for a public demonstration is a contradiction. There is a judge who will evaluate.”
«We are strongly motivated to challenge these decisions because we are convinced of the goodness of the decision that the administration took both in conceiving these rules within the European framework and in adopting these measures specifically. I was a significant part in the development of these rules, then they are decisions brought to the collective attention of the government, e.gI am fully convinced – added Piantedosi – of the validity of the measure taken by the government. This also through the inter-ministerial discussions that we have had, with the specialists, the discussions also at a European level that I am having on the application of the European framework translated into these provisions for which I am very convinced that in the long term there will be affirmation also at the jurisdictional level of the right position we have adopted.” Regarding migratory flows, Piantedosi noted that “we are always experiencing challenging days but we have not had nor are there any reports of arrivals concentrated in a few days which have been a further burden on the maintenance of the reception system”.