The street vendor insisted that the suspect’s girlfriend buy the handkerchiefs he had brought. The incident, which took place on one of the busiest streets in the city of Civitanova Marche, causes a wave of indignation in Italy and serves as a pretext for criticism of the far right.
“Bella, can you buy me some scarves or give me a euro?” Alika Ogorchukvu told Filippo’s friend Claudio Ferlazzo as the couple strolled along the busy Umberto I Street in downtown Civitanova Marche last Friday. The seller’s alleged persistence resulted in the 32-year-old reacting in an unusual way, bludgeoning him to death in broad daylight with no one trying to stop the violent crime.
Videos circulating on the Internet, recorded by viewers who apparently did not try to stop the aggressor, show Ferlazzo beating Ogorchukva on the ground. The footage, also filmed by surveillance cameras installed on the spot, shows the aggressor taking the crutch from the seller, who used it as a prop for movement. On the ground, the suspect lay down on top of the victim and tightly squeezed her neck, leaving her in agony for three to four minutes.
In addition to the violence applied to the 39-year-old seller, the aggressor also stole his mobile phone. Ferlazzo is now in custody, who, according to the Italian press, has a criminal record, is accused of premeditated murder and theft. The suspect initially told authorities he attacked the Nigerian because he was “making comments” about his girlfriend, but according to later testimony, Ferlazzo allegedly attacked Ogorchukva after the salesman insisted on asking the woman to buy him tissues or serve him charity.
Ferlazzo has already apologized to the Ogorchukvu family, who are survived by their eight-year-old son, through the lawyer who represents him. The Italian’s defense claims he suffered a psychotic break that led him to extreme violence, adding that Ferlazzo is now “in disarray” due to his mental issues.
Comparison to George Floyd
Hundreds of people, including members of the Nigerian community and Italians, demonstrated over the weekend in Civitanova and the nearby city of Ancona, demanding answers. “We want justice. Stop racism against black people,” they called in the context of outrage caused by the fact that no one did anything to stop the tragic outcome.
Why didn’t anyone help him? Charity Oriachi, Aliki Ogorchukwu’s wife, questioned in statements to the Italian newspaper La Reppublica, leaving a message: “All I want is justice. Italy won’t leave me alone.”
The contours in which the murder took place have already led several organizations to compare the crime to the case of African-American George Floyd, who died in the US in 2020 after being strangled to death. However, Macerata police spokesman Matteo Luconi clarified that while the investigation is still ongoing, there is no evidence that the crime was racially motivated.
However, Italy’s refugee association Sant’Egidio deplores the crime and calls for an end to violence against migrants. “This is an episode that took place on a crowded street, in the very center of Civitanova. There are even those who filmed it, others shouted at the aggressor, but no one did anything,” the organization said.
At a time when the country was plunged into political crisis after Prime Minister Mario Draghi stepped down, the death of Aliki Ogorchukvu has served as a motto to criticize Italy’s far right, which may be about to take over the country.
Polls point to a high likelihood of a far-right parliamentary majority leading to a government consisting of Fratelli d’Italia (FDI), Giorgia Meloni, Liga, Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, but far-right parties are now under fire after how the death of a Nigerian salesman was publicly mourned when they often advocate anti-migration policies aimed at excluding refugees from Italian society.
Upon learning of the events of last Friday, Matteo Salvini demanded the “maximum possible punishment” for the aggressor, mourning the death of the migrant. Antonio Tajani, national coordinator of Forza Italia, said he was “saddened” by what happened in Civitanova Marche, which he described as a city that “has always been open, peaceful and hospitable”.
However, the complaints came just days after members of the right-wing coalition began preparations for the election campaign, posting on social media news of crimes and abuses allegedly committed by “false refugees” and “illegal immigrants.” The parties are promoting anti-immigrant policies and claim that strengthening national security is one of the priorities for the future, so some critics are pointing the finger at the coalition, saying that these campaigns are sending a signal of hatred that encourages this type of crime. cruel.
“Some political parties legitimize fear and hatred of those who are different. This is a danger that we must fight every day,” said Abubacar Soumahoro, an Italian-Ivorian activist, trade unionist and sociologist.
On social media, many Italian figures accused Salvini and Meloni of spreading hatred against asylum seekers during political rallies. Enrico Letta, leader of the left-wing Democratic Party, spoke of “widespread indifference” as he taunted far-right leaders in a tweet.
The Marche region of Italy has been governed since 2020 by the FDI, a descendant of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). Georgia Meloni, who may become Italy’s first far-right leader since Mussolini, recently said the country needs to “repatriate immigrants back to their countries of origin and then sink the boats that saved them.”
Putin has repeatedly consulted with Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the invasion, Europa Press told Ukraine’s chief intelligence director Vadim Skibitsky.
According to Skibitsky, it was the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which is responsible for counterintelligence and espionage work, that put pressure on Gerasimov and other military agencies to agree to launch an offensive. .
However, according to the Ukrainian intelligence services, the FSB considered that by the end of February sufficient preparations had already been made to guarantee the success of the Russian Armed Forces in a lightning invasion.
However, according to Kyiv, the Russian General Staff provided the Russian troops with supplies and ammunition for only three days, hoping that the offensive would be swift and immediately successful.
The head of Ukrainian intelligence also emphasized the cooperation of local residents, who always provided the Ukrainian authorities with up-to-date information about the Russian army, such as the number of soldiers or the exact location of troops.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine caused at least 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million refugees to European countries, which is why the UN classifies this migration crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945). gg.). ).
At the moment, 17.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.
The UN has presented as confirmed 6,755 civilian deaths and 10,607 wounded since the beginning of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.
A Stockholm court on Monday sentenced a former Swedish intelligence officer to life in prison for spying for Russia, and his brother to at least 12 years in prison. In what is considered one of the most serious cases in Swedish counterintelligence history, much of the trial took place behind closed doors in the name of national security.
According to the prosecution, it was Russian military intelligence, the GRU, who took advantage of the information provided by the two brothers between 2011 and their arrest at the end of 2021.
Peyman Kia, 42, has held many senior positions in the Swedish security apparatus, including the army and his country’s intelligence services (Säpo). His younger brother, Payam, 35, is accused of “participating in the planning” of the plot and of “managing contacts with Russia and the GRU, including passing on information and receiving financial rewards.”
Both men deny the charges, and their lawyers have demanded an acquittal on charges of “aggravated espionage,” according to the Swedish news agency TT.
The trial coincides with another case of alleged Russian espionage, with the arrest of the Russian-born couple in late November in a suburb of Stockholm by a police team arriving at dawn in a Blackhawk helicopter.
Research website Bellingcat identified them as Sergei Skvortsov and Elena Kulkova. The couple allegedly acted as sleeper agents for Moscow, having moved to Sweden in the late 1990s.
According to Swedish press reports, the couple ran companies specializing in the import and export of electronic components and industrial technology.
The man was again detained at the end of November for “illegal intelligence activities.” His partner, suspected of being an accomplice, has been released but remains under investigation.
According to Swedish authorities, the arrests are not related to the trial of the Kia brothers.
“They can strengthen their positions. We understand that this can happen. At the same time, we do not rule out that they will announce a general mobilization,” Danilov said in an interview with the Ukrainska Pravda online publication.
Danilov believed that this mobilization would also be convened “to exterminate as many as possible” of Russian citizens, so that “they would no longer have any problems on their territory.”
In this sense, Danilov also reminded that Russia has not given up on securing control over Kyiv or the idea of the complete “destruction” of Ukraine. “We have to be ready for anything,” he said.
“I want everyone to understand that [os russos] they have not given up on the idea of destroying our nation. If they don’t have Kyiv in their hands, they won’t have anything in their hands, we must understand this,” continued Danilov, who also did not rule out that a new Russian offensive would come from “Belarus and other territories.” .
As such, Danilov praised the decision of many of its residents who chose to stay in the Ukrainian capital when the war broke out in order to defend the city.
“They expected that there would be panic, that people would run, that there would be nothing to protect Kyiv,” he added, referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine caused at least 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million refugees to European countries, which is why the UN classifies this migration crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945). gg.). ).
At the moment, 17.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.
The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN has presented as confirmed 6,755 civilian deaths and 10,607 wounded since the beginning of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.
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