Overview
- The Interior Ministry sent formal contestations to ten firefighters, including six from Tuscany, over their conduct at a September Gaza solidarity event.
- The case stems from a minute of silence in Pisa on Sept. 22, when the group knelt in uniform during a USB-organized demonstration supporting the Global Sumud Flotilla.
- Officials argue the use of the uniform discredited the fire corps, with possible penalties ranging from pay-reducing suspension to, less likely, dismissal.
- Hearings by the disciplinary commission will start in Rome on Jan. 29, following a USB-backed public meeting in Rome on Jan. 28 opposing the measures.
- Firefighters such as USB official Claudio Mariotti defend the gesture as union activity and cite the corps’ UNICEF ambassadorship renewed in 2024.