Rabat – The lawyer representing the family of Moroccan national Abderrahim Fakir has raised concerns over the handling of a police body camera during a forensic examination in Rome.
Fabio Anselmo said the family’s technical consultant, engineer Sergio Civino, had to wait outside the headquarters of the Italian Carabinieri’s forensic investigations unit (RIS) for about 45 minutes on Monday. By the time he entered, the body camera had already been unsealed and activated.
“Our consultant had to wait outside the RIS headquarters for 45 minutes. When he entered, they had already unsealed the evidence and activated the bodycam,” Anselmo said, according to Il Resto del Carlino.
Anselmo said the family will submit a formal note to the Bologna Prosecutor’s Office expressing its concerns over the procedure.
He stressed that the complaint does not imply that the family suspects a conspiracy, but said that all parties should be present during an examination that cannot be repeated.
“If you summon me for the opening of the evidence, the analysis and the forensic copy, you cannot open the evidence and remove the seal without me being present,” Anselmo said.
He also questioned why the body camera was removed from its seal and switched on, even briefly, before the family’s consultant arrived.
The lawyer has asked prosecutors to provide copies of documents concerning the chain of custody of the body camera, from the moment it was seized through the forensic operations carried out in Rome on Monday.
Anselmo has also filed a formal complaint over the disclosure and transmission of footage from the body camera, alleging the revelation of confidential investigative material.
Fakir was killed on July 19 in Bologna’s Pilastro district following a violent police intervention. Prosecutors have opened an investigation for involuntary manslaughter involving the two police officers who intervened and four Red Cross workers who were present at the scene. The investigation remains ongoing.
