Giuseppe Antoci has been under protection since December 2014 due to threats from the Sicilian mafia. This protection has now been extended to the European Parliament.
As president of Nebrodi Park in Sicily, Giuseppe Antoci developed a protocol to prevent European agricultural funds from falling into the hands of mafia clans, targeting a major funding channel for organised crime.
An ‘enemy’ of the mafia
That is why, he tells Euronews, he became an ‘enemy’ of the mafia. “Becoming an enemy means you first face threats. They warn you to stop, and if you persist, it escalates.”
In May 2016, Antoci survived the only mafia attack since the 1992 massacres. Four state police officers saved his life in a violent gun battle. “They brought me home to my wife and daughters.”
His dedication earned him the honour of ‘Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic,’ presented on February 2, 2017, by President Sergio Mattarella.
His protocol was extended across Sicily, and the European Commission. Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan recognised him as an ‘eloquent example’ of commitment to the fight against the mafia.
Though replaced as president of Nebrodi Park in February 2018, Antoci continues to face threats from mafia clans.
A term under escort
As a result, he and his family live an armored life, with special protection measures extending abroad. Following his election to the European Parliament with the Five Star Movement, his office will have special security features, including no windows to the outside.
In the corridors of the chamber in Brussels, he is never alone. Police officers escort him at all times, accompanying him to the entrance of meetings and waiting for him just outside.
For the next five years, Giuseppe Antoci will serve on the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, focusing on what he knows best: organised crime, which he calls ‘an economic ballast’ for the European Union.
“I have already proposed a resolution to establish CRIM, a committee to address organised crime, which has only been created once before in the European Parliament. We believe mafias are globalised, and organised crime is present in many territories and European states.”
Even as an MEP, his life and his family’s are marked by renunciations and limitations, forced to live in a constantly patrolled house. Yet, Antoci has no doubt that it is worth it.
“You can die in a mafia massacre, as almost happened to me with those brave policemen,” he says.
“There would be commemorations, gravestones, and memories. Rightly so, but you only die once. Then there is another way to die: getting up in the morning, looking in the mirror, knowing you haven’t done your duty, feeling dirty, and being unable to look your daughters in the eye while telling them to live righteously, without lowering their gaze or their back. That mirror kills you every day…”
