'Fakir's death due to agitation, cocaine and prone position' say experts

(ANSA) - ROME, 27 OTT - The death of Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan man who died while being restrained by two policemen in Bologna on July 19, was due to extreme agitation, the high dose of cocaine he had assumed, and his prone position, experts for the prosecution against two police officers charged with manslaughter said Tuesday. The cause of Fakir's death, the experts said, is "attributable to acute respiratory failure in an individual suffering from acute cocaine intoxication (as a chronic user) and severe heart disease." Factors contributing to the death—which was "hypoxic in nature"—included psychomotor agitation and hyperthermia (resulting from acute cocaine intoxication), as well as the prone position. This is the conclusion reached by the consultants for the Bologna public prosecutors regarding the case. Furthermore, the analysis "revealed extensive traumatic injuries—specifically contusions"—which "played no role in causing the death." Fakir died after being pinned to the ground face down. His family's lawyer has said the case was like that of Riccardo Magherini, a 39-year-old man who died while being arrested by Carabinieri police in Florence in 2014. Italy was condemned to pay damages by the European Court of HumanRights over Magherini's case earlier this year. (ANSA).
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