Italian Court Frees Imam Who Praised October 7 Attack
16th December 2025
An Italian appeal court has ordered the release of a Turin-based imam who had praised the October 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel, ruling that his remarks did not pose an immediate threat to public security.
Mohamed Shahin, a 46-year-old Egyptian national who has been resident in Italy for 21 years, was arrested by counter-terrorism police on November 24th, after the Interior Ministry issued an expulsion order and revoked his residence permit. Shahin has been detained in the Caltanissetta repatriation centre since November 24th, awaiting deportation.
His defence lawyers appealed the order, and the appeal court found that Shahin’s remarks did not constitute “a concrete and present danger” to public security. So the imam is now free to go, despite an existing deportation order issued against him.