The deputy commissioner of the Rome Police has been suspended after she spoke at a protest against the proposed COVID-19 ‘green pass’, which she described as “unconstitutional”.
Nunzia Alessandra Schiliro has been under investigation since she participated in an anti-COVID-19 ‘green pass’ protest in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano in the Italian capital on 25th September.
Her suspension was announced yesterday (11th October) by local media.
The ‘Green Pass’ or ‘Certificazione Verde’ is a digital or paper certificate showing that people have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from COVID-19.
All workers in both the public and private sectors will be required to have a pass starting Friday, 15th October.
Her participation in the protest elevated her to hero-like status among citizens who are strongly opposed to the ‘green pass’ after she told protesters: “It violates the articles of the first part of the Italian Constitution.”
She added: “If a law is illegitimate, I have a duty to say so precisely because I am a representative of the State.”
The comments have resulted in a legal investigation, and the Italian Interior Minister, Luciana Lamorgese, described Schiliro’s remarks as “extremely serious”.
Many opponents of Schiliro believe she is an avid anti-vaxxer who portrays herself on social media as the defender of the people, protecting them from the government’s vaccination scheme.
She wrote on social media: “It is funny how I am persecuted and almost burned at the stake for having expressed my thoughts publicly and outside the force, while the fact that a citizen is beaten is silenced.
“Why did no newspaper or television broadcast those scenes? Long live freedom!”
The news outlet Fanpage reports that her references to beaten citizens refer to the recent clashes in Rome between anti-pass protesters and the authorities.
It added that the protests drew involvement from several neo-Nazi groups.
Schiliro put distance between herself and these groups, saying that she has “nothing in common” with them and regrets that they infiltrated a protest led by “good, honest people.”
The suspension is temporary, but according to local media, Schiliro has stated she is prepared to “leave her uniform behind and carry on the fight.”
The investigation is ongoing.
