Protests by university students against the ruling party in Italy ended in violence and clashes.
Police officers clashed with left-wing students rallying against Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party at Rome’s Sapienza University on Tuesday.
The young activists protested the presence of some Brothers of Italy politicians in the conference carrying false banners with the slogan “The Fascists Leave the Sapienza Banana”.
While the protest was said to be peaceful, the situation ended in chaos after law enforcement officers tried to prevent the demonstrators from entering the convention.
It is said that the police used batons on the protestors. Video footage also shows a man being dragged and slammed to the ground.
Italian press reports said around fifty students were at the demonstration.
University officials have condemned the alleged police aggression, saying it goes against the spirit of free debate fostered by educational institutions.
Amnesty Italy also condemned the incident. It tweeted that peaceful protest is a fundamental right.
Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy recently emerged as the country’s largest party in last month’s general election, and she was named prime minister last Friday.
While Meloni’s political roots lie within Italy’s neo-fascist tradition, the new prime minister has recently distanced himself from radical nationalist ideology.
Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, head of Italy’s populist Five Star Movement and now a member of the opposition, condemned police brutality in an address to Meloni in parliament on Tuesday. He also said that universities are places for democratic debate.