A new law pushed by the majority of the Meloni government in Italy and which is expected to get the final green light from the Italian parliament next week, provides for tougher penalties for citizens who block roads with their protests.

In particular, the new rules provide for sentencing those responsible to up to one month in prison, but in the case of mass mobilization the penalty can go up to two years in prison.

Analysts stress that this new law is being adopted mainly to curb demonstrations by members of environmental organizations, such as the Last Generation and similar far-left groups which often stop traffic on roads and highways.

In Italy, however, under current law, sentences of up to four years in prison are possible to be commuted to alternative sentences.

At the same time, the Meloni government has also approved new measures for those responsible for occupying property, such as anarchists and illegal immigrants, with prison sentences ranging from 2 to 7 years. Under the new law, if the occupied apartment is the owner’s only real property, the police will be able to enter immediately and remove squatters.

Opposition forces stress that these are “propaganda measures”, since the country already has laws that can be used in these cases. Left-wing Democratic Party officials add that “this could be used to punish students and workers who, through mobilizations, claim their rights.” The Rome government responds, however, that the measures taken so far limit and delay the possibility of judicial intervention.