Italy Toughens Protest Laws, Hours Before Planned Rallies at Winter Olympics

Nytimes reports the Italian government on Thursday issued a decree that tightened restrictions on protests, the day before crowds were expected to demonstrate outside the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in northern Italy. The decree allows the police to detain people for up to 12 hours when there are reasonable grounds to believe that they may jeopardize the peaceful conduct of a protest, the interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said at a press briefing on Thursday evening.

Mr. Piantedosi said the decree would take effect within days, meaning that it could affect demonstrators who plan to gather on Friday and Saturday in northern Italy to protest the disruption caused by the Olympics and the deployment of ICE agents to Italy as part of the security team protecting the United States delegation.

Government officials said the decree, which included 32 other measures including tighter restrictions on knives, was intended to protect ordinary people and police officers, and should not be seen as a restriction on freedom.

Italy, northern Italy