ECRI renews racism claim against Italian police.Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni has blasted allegations of racism in the Italian police forces by a Council of Europe panel as "simply shameful" and "unfounded".The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the council’s independent human rights monitoring body, on Wednesday urged the Italian government to look into alleged "racial profiling" by its police forces. Meloni strongly defended the record of the Italian police, slamming the latest findings by the ERCI as "unfounded" and "the result of an ideological approach and obvious prejudices." "Everyone knows about the numerous incidents in which law enforcement officers are attacked, often by illegal immigrants, while carrying out their duties with courage, dedication and respect for the law", Meloni wrote on X, recalling that "unfortunately" it is not the first time the ERCI has made such allegations. Le parole pronunciate dalla Commissione contro il razzismo e l’intolleranza del Consiglio d’Europa, che accusano le Forze di Polizia italiane di razzismo, sono semplicemente vergognose.Tutti conoscono i numerosi episodi in cui agenti delle Forze dell’Ordine vengono aggrediti,… pic.twitter.com/Tw6YZut3ZY — Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 28, 2025 Last October the the ECRI accused Italian police of “frequent stop and account activities based on ethnicity”, particularly in relation to "the Roma community and people of African descent”, claiming it amounted to "a potential form of institutional racism”. The latest findings by the ERCI were also slammed by deputy premier and foreign minister Antonio Tajani who described the allegations as "obscure and false", telling reporters that the claims risks "fomenting hatred" towards Italy's police. In a significant move, Italian president Sergio Mattarella has invited Italy's chief of police Vittorio Pisani to the Quirinale Place on Thursday to "reconfirm the Republic's esteem and trust in the police force, whose action is inspired by the democratic spirit and the values of the Constitution." Photo credit: NGCHIYUI / Shutterstock.com.  

Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni has blasted allegations of racism in the Italian police forces by a Council of Europe panel as "simply shameful" and "unfounded". The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the council’s independent human rights monitoring body, on Wednesday urged the Italian government to look into alleged "racial profiling" by its police forces. Meloni strongly defended the record of the Italian police, slamming the latest findings by the ERCI as "unfounded" and "the result of an ideological approach and obvious prejudices." "Everyone knows about the numerous incidents in which law enforcement officers are attacked, often by illegal immigrants, while carrying out their duties with courage, dedication and respect for the law", Meloni wrote on X, recalling that "unfortunately" it is not the first time the ERCI has made such allegations. Le parole pronunciate dalla Commissione contro il razzismo e l’intolleranza del Consiglio d’Europa, che accusano le Forze di Polizia italiane di razzismo, sono semplicemente vergognose.

Tutti conoscono i numerosi episodi in cui agenti delle Forze dell’Ordine vengono aggrediti,… — Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) Last October the the ECRI accused Italian police of “frequent stop and account activities based on ethnicity”, particularly in relation to "the Roma community and people of African descent”, claiming it amounted to "a potential form of institutional racism”. The latest findings by the ERCI were also slammed by deputy premier and foreign minister Antonio Tajani who described the allegations as "obscure and false", telling reporters that the claims risks "fomenting hatred" towards Italy's police. In a significant move, Italian president Sergio Mattarella has invited Italy's chief of police Vittorio Pisani to the Quirinale Place on Thursday to "reconfirm the Republic's esteem and trust in the police force, whose action is inspired by the democratic spirit and the values of the Constitution." Photo credit: NGCHIYUI / Shutterstock.com.