Italian right-wing parties back jeweller convicted of killing robbers

A criminal case involving jeweller Mario Roggero has become a political issue for Italy's right ahead of the 2027 general election. Roggero, 72, was sentenced last week to nearly 15 years in prison for killing two robbers and wounding a third after a 2021 robbery at his shop.

The robbers had held Roggero's family at gunpoint, but the guns later proved to be fake. As they left with the stolen goods, Roggero followed them. He shot one robber dead in the getaway car, then caught and beat a second robber to death. A third robber, who was shot in the leg, survived.

The case has led to calls to ease Italy's law on legitimate defence from National Future, known as FN, and the League, which is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalition. Both parties submitted bills to parliament this week. FN deputy Rossano Sasso said Wednesday that his party would side with citizens who defend themselves against robbers. League leader Matteo Salvini visited Roggero twice in prison and suggested he could stand for the League at the election.

Political scientist Giovanni Orsina described the debate as competition on the right, with FN rising in polls while the League loses support. A survey published Monday by pollster SWG put FN at 6.7 percent of voter intentions and the League at 5.5 percent. FN was launched in February by Roberto Vannacci, a former army general who has disparaged migrants, feminists and LGBTQ+ people. The source reported that FN is targeting voters disenchanted with Salvini and with Meloni, whose government has taken a more pragmatic approach in office despite her party's far-right roots.

Meloni criticised the length of Roggero's sentence. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a co-founder of her Brothers of Italy party, said what happened to Roggero was unjust. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio submitted a plea to Italy's president seeking a pardon for Roggero. Opposition figures condemned the move as pressure on the president.

The National Association of Magistrates said judges who handled Roggero's two failed appeals and final conviction had received threats, insults and hate messages. Riccardo Magi, head of the centre-left More Europe party, called the pardon campaign populist pressure and said parties on the right were competing to make increasingly extreme claims.