Former League Councilor Sentenced to 12 Years for Murder of Homeless Moroccan Man in Voghera

The court in Pavia has issued a verdict in the high-profile case of the murder of a homeless Moroccan man by a local politician. Massimo Adriatici, a 51-year-old former security councilor in Voghera for the League, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the intentional murder of Younes El Boussettaoui. The incident occurred on the evening of July 20, 2021, in Piazza Meardi in Voghera, a town in the province of Pavia. Adriatici, a lawyer by profession with a police background, fired a fatal shot from a .22 caliber Beretta pistol at the 39-year-old man of Moroccan origin, who struggled with mental health issues and had no fixed address. The trial was characterized by unusual dynamics. For over three years, the Pavia prosecutor's office had charged Adriatici only with exceeding the limits of self-defense. It was not until November 2024 that Judge Valentina Nevoso, issuing a ruling, ordered the charge to be changed to intentional homicide, forcing the initiation of new proceedings. As a result, Judge Luigi Riganti, presiding over the trial, issued a sentence harsher than the request of prosecutor Fabio Napoleone, who had demanded 11 years and 4 months in prison. The defense, represented by lawyers Luca Gastini and Carlo Allevà, argued that the accused acted in a state of 'natural insanity' after receiving a slap during a scuffle and should be acquitted. The court rejected these arguments, finding that Adriatici had left his home to 'unauthorizedly perform armed guard duty and follow El Boussettaoui,' and that his reaction was disproportionate. The Italian League, a party led by Matteo Salvini, has for years built its image around security issues and a tough migration policy. In the past, the party successfully lobbied for the liberalization of self-defense laws, expanding citizens' right to use force in self-defense. The case of Adriatici, who as a security councilor symbolized this policy, therefore had a strong political resonance from the outset.Reactions to the verdict were mixed. The victim's sister, Bahija El Boussettaoui, expressed satisfaction that the penalty exceeded the prosecutor's request. „Siamo felicissimi. Non mi aspettavo una sentenza di condanna superiore alla richiesta del pubblico ministero. Ma non saremo davvero contenti sino a che non vedremo Adriatici entrare in carcere con le manette.” (We are extremely happy. I did not expect a conviction sentence exceeding the public prosecutor's request. But we will not be truly happy until we see Adriatici enter prison in handcuffs.) — Bahija El Boussettaoui Meanwhile, Adriatici's defense lawyers announced an appeal, claiming that 'the truth will come out.' The case has also become the subject of a broader debate about the justice system. As Il Fatto Quotidiano points out, some commentators see it as an argument against the thesis of judges' excessive deference to prosecutors, since it was the judge who imposed a toughening of the indictment on the prosecutors.