That kick to the legs, in the groin area, was aggressive and violent behaviour, not to be underestimated, driven by racial and religious hatred, as evidenced also by those prior attitudes of mockery and harassment. Actions through which, moreover, a person of a certain age was targeted for the sole reason of being of the Jewish faith.
It is with these motivations that, in essence, Milan judge Sofia Fioretta decided to qualify as "propaganda and incitement to commit crimes for reasons of racial, religious and ethnic discrimination," as charged by prosecutor Luca Gaglio, the assault carried out yesterday afternoon against a 60-year-old rabbi in Piazzale Bande Nere, Milan. And to apply, following the validation of the arrest, the precautionary measure of a twice-weekly reporting obligation for Ilyes Zahani, the 20-year-old born in Italy to Tunisian parents, arrested by police, who was with his brother (they reside in the Lodi area) and a friend, both under investigation on bail for the same offence. As reconstructed in the charge, while Davia Mizrai Shalom, the director of the Chabad synagogue, was near a bus stop, the three approached him "in a provocative and aggressive manner" and "after taking his hat" and "subsequently mocking him, struck him with a kick to the groin area" before fleeing. To establish the offence of incitement to discrimination, the prosecutor cited as the act of violence that very kick, delivered after the rabbi had photographed the youths, essentially to defend himself from them. And after the three had removed his head covering and then returned it to him.
Among the grounds of racial and religious hatred was also the fact of having repeatedly mocked the 60-year-old, laughing and talking among themselves while laying hands on him. He then filmed them as they walked away, and in his report stated in black and white that he had immediately perceived himself to be a target as a Jew, even though he could not understand what they were saying because they were speaking in Arabic. The fast-track hearing also revealed that the young man defended himself with a version deemed not credible, since it is not possible, as he claimed, that he did not know the man was Jewish. "I am not able to recognise those clothes, those hats, and I have no interest whatsoever in Palestine or the war. Among us young people, we sometimes take each other's hats off — it's done as a joke," he attempted to argue in his defence. "I only kicked him because he was angry that I was photographing him — I lost my head," he added. Shortly before, his 21-year-old brother, waiting outside the courtroom and later pleased at Ilyes's release, wanted to tell journalists his version of events.
"We are not racists. The report says we kicked him, but they described something out of a film," he said. "If you look at the CCTV cameras, we were standing still. Nobody threw a punch or hit him in the groin. If I see him, I'll shake his hand and say 'if we caused you any harm, forgive us.'" In the removal order served on the youths by the Police Headquarters, banning them from returning to Milan for one year, the document meanwhile refers to "brutal violence" and "social alarm." The Prosecution has requested the acquisition of footage from cameras in the area, also with a view to the trial, which will open on 12 November.
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