Italian Police Arrest Alleged Protest Leader Over Pre-Scheduled Telegram Messages

Italian police arrested Youssef Siher, alleged leader of the October 17 Movement, after finding pre-scheduled Telegram messages on his laptop that were set to direct protesters to gatherings on October 24, potentially sparking new violence. He is held in Milan's San Vittore prison on charges including instigation to commit crimes aggravated by terrorist intent. Investigators seized an HP EliteBook without a password containing two Telegram messages scheduled for 14:31 and 15:31 on October 24, with the first designating assembly points and the second final destinations. Police had tracked Siher for four days, linking the Telegram account "@meziyo" to his phone number through a request to the platform on October 20. The group had 6,153 Telegram subscribers and 18,200 Instagram followers across sections for multiple Italian cities. The investigation also revealed Siher allegedly used an AI portal for information on "revolutionary strategies" and possessed a document titled "Revolution, instructions for use.pdf," inspired by Egypt's 2011 uprising. His wife, Sagia Hammoud, is also under investigation as co-administrator. Authorities cite preventive shop closures and trader fears as evidence of terrorist intent, though Siher is not accused of organizing the initial October 17-18 riots.