Several people arrested in street battles after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi narrowly survived a no-confidence vote this week will face charges of wounding police, judicial sources said on Thursday.
Police arrested 26 people during some of the worst violence seen for years in Italy’s capital on Tuesday, when the streets of the historic city centre became a battle scene of smoke, tear gas and bloodied faces.
A Rome tribunal confirmed the arrest of 12 people who have been released from jail pending trial, while the case of 11 others is being evaluated, the sources said on Thursday.
Three people remain in jail, pending assessment.
All those arrested are aged between 18 and 37 years old and face varying charges of resisting arrest and causing injuries to public officials. The role of another 14 people was being investigated.
The protests sparked shocked media reactions, with many commentators seeing the violence as a symbol of disillusion with a political class absorbed by its own scandals and infighting and out of touch with the real problems of the country.
At least 50 people were injured, including several police officers, after demonstrations led mainly by students escalated into violence after Berlusconi survived a no-confidence motion in parliament by a mere three votes on Tuesday. In the past several weeks, students have been protesting throughout Italy against austerity measures and university reforms planned by the centre-right government, matching similar demonstrations in other European countries.
