ROME - The reform for self-defence presented by the League leader on Thursday will legitimise “self-defence of the property owner in the case of forced entry or violence against said owner,” government officials announce.

 Tomorrow there will be an examination of the bill for the reform of self-defence at the Senate Justice Committee: one of the promised election priorities set out by the leader of the League party, Matteo Salvini.

 Of the five proposals on the agenda, the one to keep an eye on is the one signed by League councillor, Massimiliano Romeo. This proposed addition to Article 52 of the Criminal Code reads:

 "Acts of self-defence are to be considered as legitimate in the circumstances of forced entry or intrusion against the will of the property owner, with violence or threat of use of weapons by one or more persons, with violation of the domicile referred to in Article 614… or in any other place where a commercial, professional or business activity is carried out.”

 In short, this will mean that judges will not criminalise acts of self-defence in the home or place of work (of the victim assaulted) carried out against the intruder/aggressor (the offender).

 Most worryingly, the item which follows the self-defence amendment is the implementation of the EU directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. This proposition is foregrounded by the discovery of the Repubblica earlier in the year, which revealed that there was a "contract" signed by Salvini in February, during the election campaign, which commits to protect victims of crime by working with civil weapons producers.

 The vice president of the Senate, Anna Rossomando, has warned Salvini that "your idea of justice endangers honest citizens.”

 “This how loopholes in the law get ripped wide open,” was the criticism issued by the Ristretti Orizzonti.

 The bill will also introduce a decisive tightening of penalties for theft and robbery. Robbers will now face five to eight years of imprisonment or a fine of between 10 thousand and 20 thousand euros; currently, the penalty for this crime is one to six years’ imprisonment. Penalties for theft will rise to six to ten years and the fine to 20 thousand to 30 thousand euros in the presence of aggravating circumstances.

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