Milan judge who released Youssef Siher faces sexist threats, tribunal seeks protection review

The ruling that triggered the backlash

Tiziana Landoni, a judge handling preliminary investigations (gip) in Milan, declined to validate the arrest of Youssef Siher, a 30-year-old accused of being the mastermind behind social media channels linked to the 17 October movement. Reports published on 30 October say she released him two days earlier. The arrest followed clashes in Milan on 17 and 18 October. Since her decision, insults and threats aimed at the judge have spread on social media and websites, with sexist language attached to her image. The Milan section of the National Association of Magistrates (ANM) publicly condemned the attacks on 30 October.

Threats, sexist comments and an AI image

According to the ANM, the flagged posts include one hoping the judge already has a police escort, and others that refer to envelopes containing bullets. Before the reports of 30 October, an image of the judge created with artificial intelligence was circulating on some platforms with insults attached. The ANM says the picture of several magistrates, both prosecutors and judges, was published with comments of the same kind. Prosecutor Francesca Crupi, who was mistaken for the judge in a photo, is also among those targeted. The association said it was particularly concerned by these personal attacks, which it said struck at the dignity of women who hold public office.

In its statement, the Milan section of the ANM said the following to its colleagues:

“The association expresses to its colleagues its full and unconditional solidarity, condemning every form of personal aggression that goes beyond legitimate criticism.”

Tribunal asks prefect and police chief to assess protection

Tribunal president Fabio Roia wrote an urgent letter to the prefect and the police chief (questore) in Milan. He asked them to check whether Landoni faces a danger that would require protective measures, and if so, which ones. Copies went to prosecutor Marcello Viola and prosecutor general Francesca Nanni. The letter attaches screenshots of posts and comments, in at least two cases containing explicit threats, gathered through monitoring that the tribunal's leadership started on 29 October. Carabinieri assigned to the tribunal are checking chats and web posts and have already identified a series of threatening phrases. These findings are to go to the prefecture, which will decide whether the judge should be given protection tools.

Protest in Milan and a separate press piece

A march in Milan promoted by the USB union against the cost of living and rearmament included people carrying placards in support of Siher, who is accused of leading the 17 October group. One placard carried a phrase that has been contested against him, while voices from the megaphones said he had been accused unfairly. In a separate piece published on 30 October, Il Giornale placed Landoni among the signatories of a pro-Palestinian appeal that magistrates signed in September 2025. The article describes the signatories as anti-Meloni and cites other judges, including Ida Teresi, a prosecutor in Naples who heads the ANM executive board. The other reports do not describe any protection decision yet, so the question remains with the prefecture and the tribunal's leadership.