MILAN (AP) — Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was assaulted during an official event in Tuscany by a man protesting against Italy’s lockdowns and other measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Italian media reported Friday.
The man punched Conte in the face before being detained by police officers, the LaPresse news agency reported. Conte did not appear to have suffered serious damage.
“Dissent is legitimate, but the democratic context has no place for this violent demonstration,” Conte said in a statement.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her solidarity with Conte, whose party is in opposition, and condemned “all forms of violence.”
Conte was prime minister when Italy became the first country in the West to confirm cases of COVID-19 in February 2020, putting the country under strict lockdown in early March, and oversaw the start of Italy’s vaccination campaign against the coronavirus.