Mohamed Shahin, imam of the mosque on via Saluzzo, in Turin, was subjected to an expulsion decree and locked up in the Center for Permanence and Repatriation (CPR) for stating that the Hamas attack on October 7 was an act of resistance resulting from years of occupation and dozens of wars. Fratelli d’Italia deputy Augusta Montaruli called for his dismissal in a parliamentary question to Interior Minister Piantedosi. As soon as the news leaked, a spontaneous mobilization began in Turin that filled the streets of the city center and San Salvario, the neighborhood where the Shahin Mosque is located, until the evening. The Movement for Palestine accused the government of beating Shahin for exposing himself in public and voicing ideas shared by street people who have called for an end to the two-year war.
“October 7 is the result from 80 years of workFrom 11 wars that occurred before October 7″: these were the damning statements, which earned Mohamed Shahin an expulsion order. These positions were expressed openly during various demonstrations and reiterated to the press during a march on October 9, where he added that the Hamas attack on October 7 was an attempt by the Palestinians to “wake up the world to pay attention to their cause”. For these reasons, Shahin was stripped of his residence permit and handed over a expulsion decision. After initially being detained at CPR Turin, Shahin was transported to CPR in Caltanissetta and from here he will be sent back to his home country, Egypt. His repatriation could result in imprisonment, even death, because in his homeland he is considered a dissident of his interests. open opposition to the Al Sisi regime. Recently, Italy included Egypt on its list of safe countries, despite the fact that a violent regime still prevails in the country and the European Union Court itself stated against such designation.
Shahin’s arrest immediately caused a wave of anger and solidarity in the city: the man was in fact a central figure in the mobilization for Palestine, as well as a point of reference for the Muslim community in the San Salvario neighborhood. For more than twenty years Shahin lived in Italy with his wife and children. Coordination was born immediately after the news of his arrest Free Mohamed Shahinwho in a statement underlined that what led to the imam’s arrest was because he supported the position espoused by street activists for Palestine. The coordination accused the government of trying creates division and stopping the “extraordinary global uprising for Palestine.” For this movement, Shahin will be the target «squeezable»because of his residence permit. Yesterday evening, November 25, dozens of people were in the square to ask for his release and a mobilization is also planned today, at 6 pm, in the nearby prefecture.
This is not the first time that individuals of Arab and Palestinian origin, even famous people, have been tried in Italy for their political ideas after October 7 2023. A year ago, the Bologna imam Zulfikar Khan he had been expelled from his country by a similar decree by Minister Piantedosi and sent back to Pakistan, his country of origin, despite having lived in Italy for thirty years. The decision to expel him, issued following the imam’s clear support for Palestine, cited a “tendency to take radical positions”. A month ago, the Milan Municipality informed the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, Mohamed Hannounwarning from the city, accusing him of inciting violence. In fact, in a demonstration held on October 18, Hannoun commented on the public executions allegedly carried out by Hamas: «All revolutions in the world have their own laws. Whoever kills must be killed, collaborators must be killed. Today Western countries mourn these criminals, they say that it was the Palestinians who killed poor children. But who said they were poor children?”. Then there was the case Ahmad Salema Palestinian refugee held in Rossano Calabro prison for six months for promoting and supporting mobilization against genocide in Gaza. Then there is the case of three Palestinians detained in L’Aquila (Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar and Mansour Doghmosh), accused of being connected to terrorist causes for, according to allegations made by Israel, funding the Tulkarem Brigade, an armed self-defense group active in the resistance against Israel in the West Bank occupied by the Zionist army since 1967. Sentencing will be handed down in their case on December 19.
