"Disparagement of the armed forces". This is one of the charges against seven Italian pacifists

The following excerpt is from l'indipendente.online: "During the concert of the military band held in Gallarate (Varese, Italy) to celebrate the centenary of the Italian Air Force, some citizens positioned themselves in front and displayed two banners. The first one read, 'Italian Air Force: 100 years of bombings, destruction, and massacres. Nothing to celebrate,' while the second one stated, 'No to the militarization of schools.' The seven protesters simply raised their banners as they passed by the parade before being stopped by the police and carabinieri. The peaceful expression of dissent was met with a legal response: the identified protesters were reported for 'unauthorized demonstration,' and one of them was additionally charged with 'disparagement of the armed forces' for 'publicly displaying a banner with offensive content against the Italian Air Force.' The banner 'No to the militarization of schools' clearly refers to the initiatives carried out by the Air Force to celebrate its centenary, such as the Open Day organized last March at the NATO base in Trapani or the agreement signed between the 41st Wing and seven schools in eastern Sicily to offer over 350 students work-study programs within the NATO military base in Sigonella."

Salvatore Toscano, the author of the article, continues: "As shown in the images, the goal of the protest was not to interrupt the Air Force band or 'disturb public order,' but rather to send a message of dissent. Once detained by the law enforcement, the group of young individuals affiliated with social centers in the province of Varese peacefully walked away without resistance. The flood of accusations quickly followed: the action, deemed an unauthorized demonstration, was reported to the prosecutor's office, which will conduct the necessary investigations."

PeaceLink has documented the action in a video, clearly demonstrating its nonviolent nature. It falls entirely within the constitutionally guaranteed expression of dissent. We are republishing the video so that everyone can see what actually happened.

In the past, PeaceLink displayed the peace flag during the military celebration of November 4th in Taranto, during the military band performance.

In that case, no charges were filed, and the DIGOS (Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni Speciali, a special unit of the Italian State Police) did not remove the peace flag.

The action was planned with the assistance of a lawyer. We analyzed the jurisprudence related to Article 654 of the penal code, which states:

The penal code

Art. 654 Seditious Proclamations and Demonstrations Anyone who, in a gathering that is not considered private under Article 266, or in a public place, whether open or exposed to the public, engages in seditious demonstrations or shouts, shall be punished, if the act does not constitute a more serious offense, with imprisonment for up to one year.

..

From careful reading of the provision, it can be deduced that in order to avoid the strictness of the law, in Italy nonviolent action must be conducted silently and in a manner that does not assume the characteristics of a "demonstration." There is jurisprudence on the concept of "seditious". The concept of "sedition" is closely linked to activities aimed at inciting or promoting open rebellion against established powers, and in a military context, it is connected to the crimes of rebellion against military authority and discipline within the armed forces.

The free expression of thought, constitutionally guaranteed, in this case did not interrupt the ceremony or disturb the music of the military band. It was, in fact, silent. The law punishes "seditious shouts." The actions of the peace activists did not qualify as a demonstration: there was no procession bursting into the ceremony. Each activist acted individually based on their own conscience. The law does not punish "prior agreement" among civilians.

Article 17 of the Italian Constitution states: "Meetings in public places must be notified to the authorities, who can only prohibit them for proven reasons of security or public safety." Individuals who gather to carry out not a "demonstration" but a nonviolent action performed individually, with the display of signs expressing their opinion, do not incur any offense aimed at sedition. Otherwise, all activists who have gathered in groups throughout Italian history in public places to distribute leaflets would have incurred this offense.

Therefore, it was not a public demonstration that was reported, but a nonviolent action in a public place, which is quite different.

Therefore, PeaceLink - which had already reported on this nonviolent action - expresses its full solidarity with the seven Italian activists who have been reported.