The family of Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan man who died during a police intervention in the Italian city of Bologna, arrived in Casablanca on August 6 demanding the return of his body and a full investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Fakir, who moved to Italy at the age of five, died on July 19 after being restrained on the ground by two police officers.
A video recorded by a bystander and widely shared by Italian media shows him held face down on the pavement for several minutes while calling for help before becoming unresponsive.
Italian prosecutors opened an investigation the day after the incident, which prompted protests and public gatherings in Bologna.
Protesters expressed anger and clashed with Italian police in Bologna after his death.
The family’s lawyer, Fabio Anselmo, accused authorities and parts of public opinion of shifting attention onto Fakir rather than the circumstances of his death.
“Italy must understand who this man was who had the audacity to die during a police intervention when he should instead have been given medical care,” Anselmo told reporters. He described the video as “unbearable”, “unacceptable” and “inhuman”.
Karim, a representative of the Si Cobas union, said residents of Bologna’s predominantly Moroccan neighborhood had preserved several videos as evidence. He said Fakir suffered from asthma and had experienced panic attacks in the past. On the day of the incident, Fakir was in the street calling for help when emergency services were contacted, he said.
Fakir’s relatives described him as a family-oriented man active in community associations. His aunt said the family was devastated by his death and called for authorities to return his body, which remains in Italy nearly three weeks later.
Preliminary autopsy findings cited by Professor Vittorio Fineschi, a consultant for the family, found blood-filled lungs and extensive hemorrhagic infiltration consistent with compression on the back. Anselmo said the findings pointed to “violent mechanical asphyxia by dorsal compression”.
The family said it would continue pressing for Fakir’s body to be repatriated to Morocco and for a thorough examination of the events leading to his death.