Youssef Siher stays silent at Milan hearing as lawyers demand his release

Detention and charges

Youssef Siher, a 30-year-old researcher, was detained by police on 24 October on suspicion of incitement to commit crimes, aggravated by a terrorism purpose and by organised violence at public demonstrations. Investigators consider him the administrator of the social media channels of the "Movimento 17 ottobre", a group he set up after violent clashes in central Milan on 17 and 18 October. He is also under investigation for other alleged offences, which the reports reviewed do not spell out. Siher's defence and the prosecution dispute whether his online activity amounts to incitement at all.

Hearing at San Vittore

On 27 October, judge Tiziana Landoni questioned Siher at San Vittore prison in Milan. He chose not to answer and made no spontaneous statement. Lawyers Benedetto Ciccarone and Yasmina Abu Sharar said afterwards that there had been no incitement, no terrorism and no offence, and that they had challenged the charges on points of law. They asked the judge to release him. Prosecutors Marcello Viola and Francesca Crupi asked that he remain in custody, citing the risk that he could flee and the risk that he could repeat the alleged offences. The judge must rule on the arrest validation and the request for custody by the morning of 28 October.

What prosecutors allege

According to the prosecution, Siher showed he knew the digital tools needed to develop a "revolutionary strategy" and to bring thousands of people into the squares through communiques. Prosecutors describe his messages on Instagram and in a Telegram group with more than 11,000 people as a continuous declaration of war, meant to instil deep fear in the population and disrupt ordinary civic life. They call the project subversive and aimed at a revolution against the current government. The order also says the meeting points he named were chosen to evade police checks, and that he offered logistical and organisational support to people who had been posting violent messages in the group. Prosecutors argue that his cultural background and relationship network could let him continue this activity, and that he could flee abroad if released.

Reactions and criticism

Ilaria Salis, an AVS member of the European Parliament, wrote on X that Siher looked like an ideal scapegoat, a target that government propaganda needed to discredit the protests and discourage popular participation. She described him as a second-generation Italian, a political militant and a precarious worker, and warned of what she called an authoritarian drift in Italy under Meloni. She also said she did not share some of his positions but saw the case as a serious act of repression.

“We do not bow our heads.”

Elisa Giunchi, a professor at the University of Milan who supervised his thesis, told Tg4 that he had been subjected to a shameful media lynching. She described him as very polite, reserved and shy, and said the sentences attributed to him were not especially serious. She also called for defamation actions against journalists who had named him as the mind behind the violence in Milan.

“He is absolutely not violent.”

The university said that her remarks were personal opinions and did not reflect its own position.

What comes next

Siher remains held while the judge weighs the prosecution's request for custody and the defence's request for release. The ruling is expected by the morning of 28 October. Whatever the decision, the case centres on the messages sent through the movement's channels after the clashes, which prosecutors say were meant to mobilise crowds.