Milan prosecutors will not appeal Siher release as judge gets police watch

Prosecutors will not appeal

Milan prosecutors have decided not to challenge before the Riesame court the order by judge Tiziana Landoni that freed Youssef Siher, a 30-year-old researcher who runs the Telegram chat and Instagram page 'Movimento 17 ottobre'. The ten-day window for an appeal has passed, and the decision has become official. On 28 October Landoni declined to validate the detention ordered against him, citing a lack of serious evidence, and released him. Prosecutors are no longer pressing the precautionary grounds that had led to the detention. Siher remains under investigation for inciting crime with a terrorism aggravation and organised violence at public demonstrations.

The investigation continues

The investigation is still moving forward, with the focus now on new evidence and on reconstructing Siher's network of contacts. The Polizia postale and the Digos are carrying out the probe, coordinated by prosecutor Marcello Viola and pm Francesca Crupi, while Genoa prosecutors are also looking at his contacts. Siher's phone remains seized, and he has not provided the PIN needed to access it. Devices taken from him and from his wife, Sagia Hammoud, who is under investigation for the same offences, may produce the first developments. Prosecutors allege he created the chat on the evening of 18 October and urged new clashes after the weekend of violence and looting in central Milan. Landoni, by contrast, judged that he was organising protests against the government, using harsh and vulgar language but never calling for violence or the devastation of 17 and 18 October. Prosecutors also point to a Court of Cassation ruling from January 2026 holding that incitement can exist when persuasion is strong enough to push others into crimes.

Judge under protective watch

After threats and insults spread online, Tribunal of Milan president Fabio Roia asked the authorities to protect Landoni. The Prefecture then placed her under the Vigilanza generica radiocollegata (VGR), a first level of protection rather than a bodyguard detail. It includes checks near her home and in the places she frequents, frequent police car passages and carabinieri patrols. The measure was ratified by the Provincial Committee for Order and Public Security, and the protection level can be raised urgently if investigators identify specific threats against her. Roia's letter to prefect Claudio Sgaraglia, questore Bruno Megale, prosecutor Marcello Viola and procuratrice generale Francesca Nanni enclosed explicit threats, including one message that wished she were already under escort and references to envelopes with bullets in them. AI-generated images of the judge's face also began circulating online.

Political reaction

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the decision shameful, and La Stampa reports that she was the first to voice that criticism. Fanpage reports that the Tribunal of Milan defended the judge and rejected the prime minister's remarks as unacceptable. Il Giornale wrote that the decision caused unease in politics and that inside the courthouse the scale of online threats caused great dismay. The reasoning in Landoni's order said there was no flight risk, since no habitual trips abroad were documented, and that contacts with the ProPal movement did not indicate one.

Minors released

The Riesame court has also freed six of the 35 minors arrested over the protests of 17 October, lifting their precautionary measures.