Man Who Harassed Moroccan Neighbors Ordered to Leave His Home
For eight years, a Moroccan family in Turin endured threats and violence from their Italian neighbor. Racist insults, assaults and arson made the situation unbearable. The courts have now ordered the 53-year-old man to leave his apartment and wear an electronic ankle monitor.
He wanted to drive his Moroccan neighbors out. In the end, he is the one who has to leave his home. In Turin, in northern Italy, a 53-year-old man has been ordered by the courts to stay away from a family he is suspected of harassing for eight years. The judge imposed a restraining order barring him from approaching the victims, along with electronic monitoring, the daily newspaper La Stampa reported on Tuesday, October 13.
The family, consisting of the parents and their son, has lived for 26 years in an apartment building near Corso Taranto. The problems are said to have begun as soon as the neighbor moved in. According to the son, the man set fire to the awning on their balcony, then struck his father in the face, breaking three of his teeth. Racist insults and death threats are said to have become almost daily.
On February 25, the situation took a new turn. Around 15 people appeared outside the building. From the street, several individuals threatened the family and tried to damage their cars. Four people were detained by police. “We’re going to exterminate you,” the attackers reportedly shouted, among other things.
“I don’t want to be bossed around by a Moroccan”
The conflict has an openly racist dimension. The mother said her neighbor could not accept that her son had become a residents’ representative. “I don’t want to be bossed around by a Moroccan,” he reportedly said.
The vandalism continued: flowerpots thrown at the door, rubbish tossed onto the balcony and tires slashed. In August, a hooded individual blew out a tire on their car.
On September 8, several residents witnessed another violent incident. According to their accounts, the neighbor brandished a broken bottle and an iron bar about a meter long. He mimed slitting someone’s throat with the bottle before trying to hit one of the family members.
The consequences for the mother have been severe. “She lives in terror,” her son said. The woman suffers panic attacks, takes anti-anxiety medication and no longer dares to go out alone, according to accounts gathered by Open.
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Italian magistrates found that the alleged behavior was repeated, threatening and discriminatory. The court upheld the restraining measure imposed by the investigating judge, finding it necessary to protect the victims’ physical and psychological well-being.
The man must now live elsewhere and comply with the order to stay away from the family. The measure comes as part of the criminal investigation into harassment, before any final conviction.
