*updates with quote from law enforcement source*
An Italian court has blocked the expulsion of a Turin-based imam accused by the government of having links to Hamas, a decision Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says effectively shields those who legitimise or enable terrorist groups.
The ruling has intensified a growing clash between Italy’s executive and judiciary.
Issued on 15 December, the court’s decision suspends a 24 November decree from the Interior Ministry ordering the removal of Mohamed Shahin, an Egyptian-born imam who has lived in Italy for more than two decades and serves at Turin’s Omar Ibn Khattab mosque.
The ministry justified the expulsion on national security grounds, citing Shahin’s public statements on the war in Gaza, his alleged connections to Hamas-linked networks, and his influence within local Muslim communities.
Shahin came under scrutiny after emerging as a leading organiser of pro-Gaza demonstrations in Turin.
At several rallies, he described Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel as an act of “resistance” — language the government argues amounts to legitimising terrorist violence amid heightened social tension.
Interior Ministry officials said Shahin’s position as a religious leader amplified the potential impact of his messages, increasing the risk of radicalisation even without direct operational ties to extremist groups.
The Turin court, however, ruled the government’s case insufficient, finding no concrete or immediate security threat. Shahin’s long-term residency, clean criminal record, and lack of evidence of violent activity were key factors.
The judges also noted that his alleged links to networks associated with Hamas were not considered sufficient to justify expulsion. They emphasised that even deeply divisive or inflammatory speech does not, by itself, meet the legal threshold for removal.
The ruling allows Shahin to continue as imam, where he remains a prominent and influential figure within Italy’s Muslim communities.
“This is a boundary we have to consider in our future investigations,” a law enforcement source told Brussels Signal. “The ruling highlights that, in monitoring and tackling networks linked to Hamas, our actions must stay within the legal limits defined by the judiciary.”
These limits are sparking intense debate in Italy over the balance between security and human rights, further inflaming tensions between the government and sections of the judiciary that the executive accuses of political bias.
The decision prompted an unusually direct response from Meloni, who accused parts of the judiciary of undermining the state’s ability to tackle extremism.
On social media, the prime minister said it was “legitimate to ask” how Italy can protect its citizens if judges overturn measures targeting individuals who frame Hamas’s actions as resistance rather than terrorism.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi echoed her criticism, calling the ruling “disheartening” and warning that it risks weakening preventive security measures.
He noted that the government has issued more than 200 expulsions on security grounds since taking office and indicated that the Interior Ministry would pursue the case through all available legal channels.
The Shahin ruling feeds into a broader narrative promoted by Meloni’s government: that parts of the judiciary are limiting executive authority on migration, extremism, and public order.
This tension has already surfaced in other high-profile cases, most notably the government’s plan to process migrants in offshore repatriation centres in Albania.
The initiative, based on a 2023 bilateral agreement and expanded by a 28 March 2025 decree, has faced repeated legal challenges, with courts questioning its compatibility with Italian and European law.
All of this is unfolding ahead of a highly politicised referendum on judicial governance, requested by the government and scheduled for early 2026.
Meloni’s allies argue that ideologically motivated magistrates have gained outsized influence over security-related policy.
Critics, including opposition parties and legal associations, warn that the referendum risks undermining judicial independence.
What began as an administrative decision to expel a single imam has now become a symbol of a deeper struggle over power and prerogatives — crystallising a question likely to dominate Italy’s political debate in the run-up to 2026: who ultimately decides on security — elected governments or the courts?
