The right-wing coalition in Rome expressed solidarity with a jeweler who killed two burglars. President Sergio Mattarella was now fed up.
Jul 20, 2026, 3:29 amJul 20, 2026, 3:29 am
Dominik Straub, Rome / ch media
Covered body of a robber after the attack on a jewelry store in Grinzane Cavour.Image: Alessandro di Marco / ANSA
The case of vigilantism that is heating up tempers in Italy occurred in April 2021: three robbers, all Italians, stormed Mario R’s jewelry store in the small town of Grinzane Cavour in Piedmont. They threatened the owner, his wife and his daughter with knives and a firearm, which later turned out to be a toy gun. Then they emptied the display cases with the jewelry and fled through the back exit.
The shopkeeper then grabbed his revolver, ran after the robbers, who had already gotten into their getaway car, and fired several shots at the vehicle. One of the robbers was killed on the spot, another was injured, while the third tried to escape on foot. He stumbled and Mario R. killed the man lying on the ground with several violent kicks to the head and back.
The Italian jeweler Mario R. shot two robbers in 2021.Image: zvg
For the judiciary, the case was clear as day: there could be no question of a self-defense situation, as the jeweler claimed. Both the jury in the first instance, the appeal court in the second instance and finally, this week, the highest court in Rome, the Court of Cassation, pointed out that the danger to life and limb for Mario R. and his family had ended with the escape of the three robbers. Self-defense could therefore no longer be claimed.
“The accused’s act was not legitimate self-defense, but rather an illegitimate vendetta (revenge),” emphasized the Court of Cassation and confirmed the sentence of 14 years and 9 months imposed by the lower court for two counts of intentional homicide and bodily harm.
As with previous judgments, the reactions of the Italian right-wing coalition were not long in coming. “The conviction is unjust,” wrote Lega boss and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini on Instagram. Mario R. was simply reacting to aggression against himself and his family in his shop.
The Lega leader appealed to President Sergio Mattarella to grant a pardon for the jeweler. The other parliamentarians of the ruling right-wing coalition have also joined this demand: MPs and senators from Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing national Fratelli d’Italia and the former Berlusconi party Forza Italia collected signatures for a corresponding petition to the President.
Word of power from the President
When Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, according to media reports in consultation with Prime Minister Meloni, began to initiate official clarifications about the possibility of a pardon, the President’s collar burst. He summoned the Minister of Justice to the Quirinal Palace to explain to him what he of course also knew: that according to the constitution, pardons “fall within the exclusive competence of the President”.
The right-wing foreign politician Salvini has been chasing votes for years with the slogan “Self-defense is always legitimate” – as if Italian law stipulates otherwise. In Italy, too, self-defense is expressly permitted – provided that there is actually (even assumed) danger to the life of the person attacked or third parties and the means used are proportionate. Otherwise it is simply vigilantism.
For Salvini, it is apparently also okay if a burglar or robber is shot in the back while fleeing. Nobody forces anyone to commit a burglary or a robbery – and if the gangsters had refrained from their actions, they would still be alive, is the motto.
Tolerance for revenge and vigilantism in Italy sometimes extends beyond the right-wing parties. An online petition for Mario R. was signed by over 200,000 people within 24 hours.
But there is resistance to the free pass for vigilantism. Former Turin mayor Chiara Appendino accuses Salvini of abusing the case for election campaign purposes. Instead, more police, personnel and money are needed for law enforcement. This attitude is probably shared by the majority. (schweiztoday.ch)