Paul Keenan
Italy has deported two Moroccan nationals for their parts in causing disturbances in churches.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano confirmed that a 25-year-old man who was arrested for throwing a crucifix to the ground in a church in Venice had been expelled alongside a 69-year-old who stormed into a church in Trentino shouting abusive comments about Catholicism.
Minister Alfano said the expulsions came as part of a wider crackdown in Italy on extremists. “We cannot deny that there is a risk,” he said. “All of our activity is focused on one goal, to reduce risk, even as we are aware that great western democracies, non-western democracies and non-democracies all have been hit all over the world.”
The minister further revealed that since 2015, Italian authorities have detained 549 suspected radicals utilising surveillance tactics previously employed against the Mafia.
