DISINFO: Italy is governed by a Nazi-style dictatorship imposed with COVID-19
SUMMARY
A few months after the COVID-19 pandemic began a Nazi-style dictatorship was imposed in Italy. The Conte II government declared a state of emergency, and the Draghi government prolonged it until December 31, 2021. After that date, the state of emergency can be further prolonged. The Italian parliament is rarely consulted, and decisions are taken by a very small group of ministers. Hitler, like the Italian government, also shelved the constitution and declared a state of emergency. Italy’s sanitary dictatorship has become increasingly cruel and inhumane.
The Italian government has now made it mandatory for citizens to get a “Green Pass” (which requires vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result) in order to use public transport, have lunch in a company cafeteria, or work as a state employee, like school teachers and university professors. The Green Pass is similar to the Nazi laissez-passer.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Western governments have exploited the coronavirus pandemic in order to abolish liberal democracies and establish dictatorships.
The article is obviously falsifying reality by claiming that the Italian government, which has introduced a state of emergency to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, is similar to the Nazi regime, a totalitarian dictatorship that practiced mass terror and repression against its own and other civilian populations.
The emergency provisions, such as the curtailment of freedom of movement, are tools that democratic governments need to use, for a limited period of time, in order to rapidly and effectively protect the public health of citizens.
Liberal democratic states are entitled to declare a state of emergency in times of grave crisis, such as a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, or an epidemic. During a state of emergency a government is empowered to perform actions or impose policies that it would normally not be permitted to undertake. In liberal democracies emergency measures must be temporary, limited to what is necessary and strictly proportionate. The state of emergency introduced in Italy in order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic is in line with the requirements of the Italian constitution (articles 16, 17 and 32).
EU countries are not free to shape their emergency measures as they wish. EU treaties and human rights instruments - such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), OSCE commitments and the United Nations human rights treaty system - continue to apply even during crises. See the Statement by President von der Leyen on emergency measures in Member States.
Furthermore, Italy’s Green Pass - the European Covid Digital Certificate - does not restrict the freedom of citizens: it is a health declaration certifying non-positive status for the COVID-19 virus. The article’s claim that the Green Pass is similar to the Nazi laissez-passer is a clear distortion of the facts. It is not possible to compare the Green pass to the Nazi laissez-passer – the Ahnenpass (“ancestor pass”), a genealogical passport which documented the Aryan lineage of citizens of Nazi Germany. Such lineage was required to work in certain professions, and in fact the Ahnenpass discriminated against minorities and the Jewish population.
Read similar cases claiming that Italy and other states have deliberately used the COVID-19 pandemic to establish sanitary dictatorships, and that The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the process of militarisation of Italian society.