The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Italy on 6 December 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this time frame. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested the dismissal of the complaint filed by Ms. Corona following her alleged mistreatment. The Special Rapporteur is highly concerned by this development and underlines the importance of accountability for any mistreatment which may have occurred.
The Special Rapporteur’s concerns in this regard are heightened by reports she has received of similar mistreatment of women human rights defenders by police in Brescia in January 2025, following alleged arbitrary arrests in the context of a peaceful protest against Italian arms trade with Israel.
These events are taking place in the context of the proposed law on public security, which is currently before the Senate. The Special Rapporteur, along with other UN human rights experts, sent a formal letter to the Italian Government about the proposed law in December 2024. She reiterates her concern that the law fails to meet necessary standards around clarity and predictability, and that it may open the door for the misuse of force against human rights defenders, including in the context of peaceful protests about climate change.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the alleged arbitrary detention and degrading treatment of human rights defender Valentina Corona.
Ms. Valentina Corona is a climate activist involved with Extinction Rebellion, an international movement which uses non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to call for just action by governments on climate change and ecological collapse. Ms. Corona has been active with the group since 2019.
ALLEGATIONS
On 9 July 2024, Extinction Rebellion activists organised a peaceful protest at the city hall in Bologna, where the Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting of the G7 was taking place. Some protestors sat together in front of the entrance to the building, linking themselves in twos with bicycle locks. Others entered the building to hang a banner from the facade reading “Your technology, our collapse”, using climbing ropes and safety equipment to set up the banner. Activists also made a pile with old IT equipment, danced, chanted and handed out petitions on the square in front of the city hall.
Following the intervention of police, Ms. Corona, who did not participate in the protest directly but was present to mediate between activists and the authorities, entered into dialogue with the police in an effort to de-escalate tensions. Despite this, she and 20 other activists were taken to police headquarters in Bologna, where they were detained for between 7 and 8 hours, without being formally put under arrest. While detained, Ms. Corona’s belongings were seized before she was separated from the group of activists, reportedly obliged to undress completely in a bathroom, and then asked to bend over to be searched by a female police officer. It has been reported that Ms. Corona was not offered access to a lawyer or a third person that could assist her, despite the search report stating that Ms. Corona had been asked whether she wanted to exercise such right.
The activists detained reportedly face multiple charges, including under article 18 of the Consolidated Text of Public Safety Laws (TULPS), which regulates the holding of protests, and under article 610 of the Italian Penal Code, which provides for a sentence of up to four years of imprisonment for those found guilty of committing “private violence” (violenza privata), which is defined as forcing a person or people to do, tolerate or omit to do something through violence or threat.
On 25 July 2024, Ms. Corona lodged a complaint against her treatment in detention.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express concern at the alleged detention of Ms. Corona and other activists from Extinction Rebellion, which we fear may have been arbitrary and appears to have been carried out in direct connection with their peaceful exercise of their human rights, including their right to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and to promote and protect human rights. We underline our strong concern at the reported charges brought against Ms. Corona and those involved in the protest, notably the allegation of “private violence”, given it appears to have been brought against members of a group engaged in non-violent acts which appear to have posed no threat to the public or to any individual person and to have been motivated solely by legitimate, well-founded concerns about climate change and its impact on human rights. Notably, as of November 2024, a number of UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed alarm that “current and planned climate action until 2030 and beyond is grossly inadequate to ensure a safe climate for humanity, in line with everyone’s human right to a healthy environment and the protection of individuals, communities and States that have already borne the brunt of the negative human rights impacts of climate change. Collective current plans only amount to a 2 percent emissions reduction by 2030 compared to 2019, whereas a 43 percent cut is needed to avoid climate chaos.”[1]
It should also be underscored that a number of UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed growing concerns for the violations of the human rights of climate activists. The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association underscored that civic action, social movements and environmental human rights defenders play an essential role in ensuring climate justice,[2] expressing alarm about mounting restrictions of civic space, including repression and criminalization of climate activism.[3]
We are concerned that this case is prone to trigger a notable chilling effect on human rights defenders and advocacy groups working on climate change-related issues, impacting their ability to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly freely and without fear of reprisals or excessive repression. We recall that States parties to the ICCPR have an obligation to safeguard the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and to protect those exercising such rights from suffering reprisals. In this regard, we recall that in its general comment No. 34,[4] the Human Rights Committee stated that States parties have a duty to put in place effective measures to protect against attacks aimed at silencing those exercising their right to freedom of expression (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 23). Such attacks include arrests, lawsuits or prosecutions that someone may be subjected to in seeming connection to their exercise of this right.
We also express serious concern at the alleged degrading, arbitrary and disproportionate treatment to which Ms. Corona was subjected while detained.
[1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/cop29-states-must-prioritise-effective-climate-action-and-sufficient-finance.
[2] A/77/171.
[3] A/HRC/44/50, see also A/HRC/55/50.
[4] https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/gc34.pdf.
