Another violent episode took place at the migrant repatriation center (CPR) in Turin. Eleven police officers and two soldiers were injured during a riot that took place on Sunday night.
Eleven police officers and two soldiers were injured in a riot that broke out Sunday night in the migrant repatriation center (CPR) in Turin. Residents at the center tore bricks from a wall in the Purple Area -- which was recently remodeled following damage caused by a fire that was set during a previous riot -- and reportedly threw them at law enforcement.
The riot at the CPR broke out at the end of a demonstration by members of the anarchic movement against the centers. The demonstrations and marches had been taking place since January 31 outside the center, located on Via Brunelleschi in Turin.
Police investigators are analyzing surveillance footage to determine those responsible.
Police unions say situation at Turin CPR is explosive
The violent episode against officers at the Turin CPR brought reactions from Italy's police unions. "We need urgent decisions by politicians and the interior ministry," said Pietro Di Lorenzo, provincial secretary-general of the SIAP police union."Rules of engagement must be revised, as well as rules that govern the stays of those being held at the CPR, and investments, including economic ones, to speed up identification and expulsion," Di Lorenzo said.
Antonio Perna, provincial secretary-general of the SAP police union, said the revolts at the Turin CPR are "a film that has already been seen again and again, that, however, no one bothers to stop."
"The police who work at the CPR have the right to work peacefully, knowing that all precautions are being taken to avoid unrest," Perna said. Felice Romano, secretary of police union SIULP, said he expressed solidarity with the police who were injured at the Turin CPR. "I applaud them for their professionalism and the equilibrium with which they faced the umpteenth gratuitous act of violence and premeditated aggression by the criminals waiting to be expelled from our country after having served sentences for the very serious crimes that they perpetrated," Romano said.
Democratic Party says problems at Turin CPR are now structural
Mimmo Carretta and Stefano Lo Russo, municipal secretary and City of Turin party whip for the Democratic Party (PD), respectively, said a solution to the problem of violence at the center must be found. "The recurrence of violent episodes clearly highlights a problem that is by now structural at the Turin CPR on Corso Brunelleschi," they said. "We express solidarity with the men and women of law enforcement and the military who have been victims of a revolt, and with the area's residents. A revolt that caused 13 injured," they said.