Minniti: Security is fundamental, but Roggero's case was not self-defense. Stop the social media super jury.

Marco Minniti, former Italian Interior Minister, asserts that security is the bedrock of democracy, but it cannot be bartered for freedom. He emphasized that a democracy that trades security for liberty is on the path to death.

“

Security is freedom, with the accent on the "and". The two words are strictly connected.

Minniti addressed the public outcry surrounding the conviction of jeweler Mario Roggero, who received a 14-year and 9-month sentence. He explained that the public's strong reaction stems from three key issues: the nature of the event, the role of the justice system, and the influence of social media.

Regarding the Roggero case, Minniti stated unequivocally that it was not a case of self-defense. He pointed to the unequivocal findings across three judicial levels, which concluded there was no imminent threat. "The reconstruction made in the three degrees of judgment is unequivocal," he said. "There was no imminent threat, not even residual, and all this is reconstructed through images that are truly difficult to misunderstand."

“

It is not possible to make an exchange whereby one says 'I will give you more security and you give up your freedom', because a democracy that were to reason like this would be a democracy that is about to die or is already dead.

Minniti also stressed that while penalties and reparations can be debated, the justice system's role is to apply the law, which is created by Parliament, not the judiciary. He cautioned against the judiciary seeking popular consensus. "The task of the Italian judicial system is to do justice. Applying the law which, in the separation of powers sanctioned by our constitution, is not made by the judicial system but is made by Parliament," he stated.

“

What use is freedom to me if I don't have the security to walk down the street? If I don't have the possibility to fully express the primary conditions of the idea of freedom?

Most critically, Minniti highlighted the dangerous precedent of social media acting as a "super jury." He expressed concern that public opinion on platforms like social media could override the established legal process, which includes popular juries and three levels of judgment. "This is the very delicate issue that has been raised by the Roggero affair. That is, whether it is possible that at a certain point, in a democracy, beyond the popular jury and the three degrees of judgment, it is possible to have a sort of super popular jury intervene," he said.

“

The word security is the backbone of every democracy. All the more so today in the third millennium.