George Meloni intervened in the case of the jeweler who killed the robbers

The story of the Italian jeweler Mario Rogero, who shot two robbers, finally turned into a political battle — the country's Prime Minister George Meloni personally joined it.

"You're attacking me. I'm defending myself. And then I have to pay you compensation? This is unfair," Meloni wrote on the social network X.

The prime minister recalled the new draft law in the field of security, according to which a person who was injured during the commission of a crime, as well as his relatives, will not be able to claim compensation from the one who defended himself.

"The state stands on the side of law—abiding citizens, not criminals," the head of government stressed.

In 2021, after the armed robbery of Rogero's store in In Piedmont, he caught up with the criminals and opened fire on them. Two robbers were killed, the third was injured. The court concluded that at that time the limits of the necessary defense were exceeded, and sentenced Rogero to 14 years and 9 months in prison.

In addition to the prison term, the court ordered the jeweler to pay compensation to the families of the victims. The total amount is about 780 thousand euros, of which about 300 thousand have already been paid.

It is this part of the decision that causes a particularly violent reaction among supporters of the government, the public "Immigration to Italy" notes. For them, the situation looks absurd: a person who has become a victim of an armed attack is not only sent to prison, but is also obliged to compensate the families of those who came to rob him.

After the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio began the procedure related to the possible pardon of Rogero, President Sergio Mattarella publicly recalled that the right to pardon under the Constitution belongs exclusively to the head of state. The opposition believes that the government is using Rogero's case for a political campaign. The leader of the Più Europa party, Riccardo Magi, accused the Meloni cabinet of trying to put pressure on the powers of the President of the republic.