A 30-year-old academic who justified the October 7 massacres has been arrested by Italian police for allegedly masterminding the violent demonstrations in Milan.
A dual citizen of Italy and Morocco, Youssef Siher was allegedly the administrator of the Instagram page “Movimento 17 Ottobre” (“October 17 Movement”), which called for demonstrations across Italy, Corriere della Sera reported.
In Siher's arrest warrant, prosecutors said he carried out a "plan aimed at committing criminal acts with subversive intent, with the goal of effectively instilling terror in the population," Italian news agency Ansa reported.
Siher, a known pro-Palestinian activist, defended the October 7 terror attack in a 2024 essay.
He wrote in the magazine Miccia: “Few in the West were able to conceive without ifs and buts of ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ for what it was: a revolutionary act of decolonisation.”
“Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” was the name that Hamas gave its rampage.
Siher had no criminal record before his arrest, Corriere said. His wife is under investigation on suspicion of the same offences levelled against him.
The Milan clashes followed rioting that began in France several weeks ago.
Italian authorities detained more than 370 people over the weekend and arrested nine in connection with the riots.
Far-left agitators took to the streets along with other protesters – including large numbers of minors, naturalised second-generation Italians and foreign nationals – to protest against a range of issues, from underfunding of education to racism in society.
The “Movimento 17 Ottobre” Instagram account, which set out dates, locations and times of “mobilisations”, encouraged protesters to protest against the Giorgia Meloni government, the police, the state and the media, which it framed as working against the “proletariat”.
Similar protests have begun to occur in Spain, where authorities in Barcelona detained more than 100 people over the weekend.
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