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More EU countries reclaim land from the mafia. Here’s how they use it

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

More EU countries reclaim land from the mafia. Here’s how they use it

Italy was the first to pass a law to allow the reallocation of land for social purposes. Since then, several other countries have followed suit.

La Poesia looks much like a normal Italian trattoria. Bottles of Sicilian red wine line the rustic brick walls, tables are set with olive oil from Puglia, and gourmet classics like pasta all’amatriciana are served up in ceramics made in the Amalfi Coast.

But while the dishes at this Parisian restaurant taste just like you would expect, the ingredients used to make them have an unusual origin: much of the produce was grown on land in Italy seized from the mafia.

“We want this to be more than a restaurant,” says Baptiste Gaud, manager of La Poesia, which has also hosted music concerts, film screenings, and political talks since it opened in November 2022. “It is a gastronomic, ethical and cultural place.”

La Poesia, which sources much of its food and drinks from the Italian nonprofit Libera Terra (Free Land), is part of a burgeoning movement across Europe to reclaim and reuse land and goods once possessed by organised crime groups.

While governments worldwide have long enacted policies allowing the confiscation of criminal assets, only movable goods like cars and jewellery could be sold by the state, whereas land, difficult to legally reassign, has often been left unused.

But in 1996, Italy passed a pioneering law to allow the reallocation of land for social purposes.

“Governments were focused on selling confiscated goods,” says Tatiana Giannone, a specialist in confiscated assets for Libera, a civil society coalition that campaigned for the law. “But increasingly there is a move to reuse land and property, and to put it to use in the public good. Italy has really been the pioneer on this.”

Addiction treatment centre, nautical school …

According to a report published in March by Libera, more than 19,000 properties have been confiscated from groups like the Sicilian Mafia, the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta and the Neapolitan Camorra to date, and there are 991 nonprofits running social reuse projects across the country. In Castel Volturno, near Naples, a cooperative is making mozzarella; in Genoa, a nonprofit runs a bicycle repair shop, and in Rome, there’s a jazz music venue, among many other examples.

But increasingly other European countries have begun to implement social reuse of confiscated property. As many as 19 nations have to some degree, including Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania and the Netherlands, according to a report by CHANCE, a European civil society network. “Social and public reuse of confiscated assets is one of the most important political and social innovations of recent years,” it concluded.

Near Alicante, in Spain, a villa confiscated from a drug trafficker has become an addiction treatment centre. In the Dutch city of Rotterdam, a boat once used to transport drugs is now a nautical school. In France, an apartment in Paris seized from an infamous gambler is now managed by a charity for victims of trafficking. And in Romania, four properties provide temporary shelter for vulnerable people.

At the European level, the work was started in 2013 when the European Parliament called on member states to consider “confiscation models” for assets derived from criminal activities and encouraged “the use of criminal assets for social purposes.” Then in May 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new directive requiring member states to “consider the use of confiscated properties for public or social purposes.”

Advocates argue that the social reuse of confiscated goods not only makes use of land that would otherwise lie unused, but that it effectively engages communities against organised crime, making the anti-mafia efforts more resilient in the long term.

“Social reuse puts citizens at the heart of the fight against criminality,” says Fabrice Rizzoli, president of Crim’HALT, a French anti-mafia nonprofit that played a key role in the French government passing a law in 2021 for social reuse. “Before only the state had the right. But this changes our mentality. It’s up to us, the citizens.”

‘Still so far to go’

Yet progress has been slow. According to Europol, the EU’s agency for law enforcement cooperation**,** there are more than 5,000 organised crime groups operating across the bloc. Their illegal activities generate an estimated €110 billion a year. However, it found in 2021 only about 2% of these proceeds are frozen and 1.1% are confiscated.

“Things have moved fantastically,” says Anna Sergi, an expert in anti-mafia efforts in Europe and professor of criminology at the University of Essex. “But there is still so far to go. It can take years for an asset to be put to reuse. We need agencies to be set up to run and facilitate this process.”

Part of the issue has been the increasingly cross-border nature of organised crime in Europe, making it more difficult for authorities to prosecute. Some 7 out of 10 of criminal organisations in Europe operate in multiple states. But progress on that front was made in 2020, when legislation from the European Commission came into force allowing EU countries to mutually recognise confiscation orders.

“That was a success,” adds Sergi. “In the EU, you have borderless crime. It comes with the territory. So we need to have a fully European investigative model.”

But for now, projects like La Poesia are helping, one forkful of spaghetti at a time, to take power away from criminal groups across Europe and put it back in the hands of the people.

“The reaction has been so positive,” says Gaud. “Our customers love the idea when we explain our story and they are curious to know more.”

Related Topics:Featured France Italy mafia Organised crime

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World

Scientists study ‘very rare’ frozen remains of 35,000-year-old saber-toothed cub

Published

9 seconds ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Scientists study ‘very rare’ frozen remains of 35,000-year-old saber-toothed cub

A mummified saber-toothed cub of a catlike animal dating back 35,000 years was left almost perfectly preserved in Siberia’s permafrost.

The remains had been found back in 2020, northeast of Yakutia, Russia. Research regarding the study of the cub was published in the journal Scientific Reports on November 14, 2024.

The discovery of frozen remains from the Late Pleistocene period is “very rare,” according to the published research, though most discovered in Russia lie in the Indigirka River basin, the authors note.

The mummified saber-tooth cub found in Siberia’s permafrost was studied by scientists and found to have been buried around 35,000 years ago. (Alexey V. Lopatin)

12-YEAR-OLD BOY STUMBLES UPON STUNNING ANCIENT FIND WHILE WALKING DOG IN ENGLAND: ‘RELATIVELY RARE’

The mummified cub remained well-preserved, frozen in time for thousands of years. The frozen nature of this find left it in impressive condition, even still containing fur.

“The mummy body is covered with short, thick, soft, dark brown fur with hair about 20–30 mm long,” the authors wrote in the published research, also pointing out that the fur that was located on the back and neck of the cub was longer than the hair that was found on the legs.

The head of the mummy was also left well-preserved, down to its chest, front arms and paws.

IRISH FARMER FINDS NEAR-60-POUND SLAB OF ANCIENT BOG BUTTER ON HIS LAND BY ‘PURE LUCK’

The study of this find wasn’t just a unique opportunity for scientists, it also provided first-of-its kind research.

“For the first time in the history of paleontology, the appearance of an extinct mammal that has no analogues in the modern fauna has been studied,” the authors of the study explained.

This discovery provided an extremely unique and rare opportunity for scientists to study an extinct species that was so well preserved. (Alexey V. Lopatin)

The scientists determined that the cub had died at about three weeks old. It was identified by the authors of the study as belonging to the species Homotherium latidens and had many differentiations from a modern lion cub of a similar age.

The shape of the muzzle displayed by the mummified cub, which had a large mouth and small ears, plus a “massive” neck, long forelimbs and a darker colored coat, were all among key differences from today’s modern lion cubs that scientists observed.

2,000-YEAR-OLD ROMAN ROAD DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN LONDON

Scientists also worked in their research to find out how the extinct species was able to survive through frigid temperatures.

Large contributors to their survival were the shape of the large paws and absence of carpal pads. Scientists believe these elements helped them get through the snow.

In recent years, there have been other ancient animals found in Siberian permafrost.

Analysis of the cub’s skull helped scientists identify it as belonging to the genus Homotherium. (Alexey V. Lopatin)

For example, in 2021, a mummified wolf was discovered that dated back over 44,000 years, Live Science reported in June 2024.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

More than 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in 48 hours

Published

52 mins ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

More than 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in 48 hours

Director of the Kamal Adwan hospital says several staff wounded in Israeli bombardment.

At least 120 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in two days, Palestinian health officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment across the besieged territory.

At least seven people were killed when a residential home was hit overnight in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, health officials said on Saturday. The other deaths were recorded in central and southern Gaza.

Israeli air raids caused significant damage to al-Faruq Mosque in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to a social media video verified by Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces also deepened their ground offensive and bombardment of northern Gaza, where one of the last partially operating hospitals was hit, wounding several workers.

Hussam Abu Safia, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said in a statement on Saturday that Israeli forces “directly targeted the entrance to the emergency and reception area several times, as well as the hospital courtyards, electrical generators, and hospital gates”.

The bombardment “resulted in 12 injuries among doctors, nurses, and administrative staff within the emergency and reception areas”, he said.

The Israeli military rejected the allegations and said it was “not aware of a strike in the area of the Kamal Adwan Hospital” following an initial review of the situation.

On Friday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said hospitals have fuel left for only about two days before it needs to start restricting services.

Israel’s military imposed a siege and launched a renewed ground offensive in northern Gaza last month, saying it aimed to stop Hamas fighters from waging more attacks and regrouping in the area.

The United Nations warned earlier this week that almost no aid had been delivered to northern Gaza since Israel’s renewed offensive as aid groups and food security experts warn of a famine in the area.

In a call with Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pressed Israel to “take steps to improve the dire humanitarian condition in Gaza”, the Pentagon said.

Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and wounded more than 104,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian health officials.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which at least 1,139 people were killed and about 250 others seized as captives.

A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, Abu Ubaida, said later on Saturday that a female Israeli captive in the group’s custody had been killed in northern Gaza in an area under attack by Israel’s forces.

“The life of another female prisoner who used to be with her remains in imminent danger,” he added, accusing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being responsible and of undermining efforts to end the war.

World

NATO head and Trump meet in Florida for talks on global security

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

NATO head and Trump meet in Florida for talks on global security

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and the head of NATO have met for talks on global security, the military alliance said Saturday.

In a brief statement, NATO said Trump and its secretary general, Mark Rutte, met on Friday in Palm Beach, Florida.

“They discussed the range of global security issues facing the Alliance,” the statement said without giving details.

It appeared to be Rutte’s first meeting with Trump since his Nov. 5 election. Rutte had previously congratulated Trump and said “his leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong” and that he looked forward to working with him.

Trump has for years expressed skepticism about the Western alliance and complained about the defense spending of many of its member nations, which he regarded as too low. He depicted NATO allies as leeches on the U.S. military and openly questioned the value of the alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades. He threatened not to defend NATO members that fail to meet defense-spending goals.

Rutte and his team also met Trump’s pick as national security adviser, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, and other members of the president-elect’s national security team, the NATO statement said.

Rutte took over at the helm of NATO in October.