Mario Borghezio

Mario Borghezio (born on 3 December 1947 in Turin^{[citation needed]}) is an Italian politician from the Northern League. (currently suspended^[1])

He is a Member of the European Parliament, and sits with the eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Democracy group. He is a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and of the Committee on Petitions. He also sits as a substitute member on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

Controversy and convictions

In 1993, he was sentenced to pay a fine of 750,000 lire for violence on a minor. He forcefully held and turned over to the police a 12-year-old Moroccan unregistered street seller. Italian law does not allow so-called "Citizen's arrests", or otherwise taking the law into one's own hands. ^[2]

In July 2005, Borghezio was found guilty of arson, for setting fire to the pallets of some migrants sleeping under a bridge in Turin during a vigilante raid. For this he was sentenced to two months and twenty days in prison, converted into a fine of €3,040.^[3][4]

On 17 December, 2005, Borghezio was injured by some No Tav activists, who recognised him on a train from Turin to Venice. Because of the encounter, he had to undergo an operation for a fractured nasal septum. That morning, he had participated in a counter-protest against the No Tav movement in the Susa Valley.^[5]

On 11 September, 2007, he was arrested by Belgian police for participating in a protest against the Islamisation of Europe.^[6][7]

In May 2011, Borghezio made inflammatory remarks after the arrest of Ratko Mladic, the Serbian military leader indicted for war crimes at the Hague, including the genocide of 8000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica. Borghezio was quoted as saying that "Mladic is a Patriot" and "The Serbs could have halted the advance of Islam into Europe, but they weren't allowed to do so." ^[8]

On June 9, 2011, Borghezio was arrested by Swiss policemen after attempting to join the 2011 annual Bilderberg conference at St. Moritz (Switzerland). He was banished from the Canton of Graubünden for the duration of the meeting. The Italian embassy in Berne lodged a diplomatic protest. ^[9]

On 30 July 2011 he was suspended for three months by his party for praising several of the ideas in the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the man who is charged with perpetrating the 2011 Norway attacks.^[10]

Quotes and Facts

In an interview published on 7 February 2006 on "Corriere Della Sera", Borghezio said: "When I'm on stage at a political rally, I become a different person. I say whatever comes out of my gut. It's exciting. No, it's more than exciting: it's like having an orgasm".^[11]

Notes

1. ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/video/europe/2011/08/20118544014157433.html
2. ^ "‘Leghista violento su minore’" (in Italian). Archiviostorico.corriere.it. 1993-06-23. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1993/giugno/23/leghista_violento_minore_co_0_93062312803.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
3. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "‘Provocò un incendio Condannato Borghezio’" (in Italian). Archivio.lastampa.it. 2005-07-02. http://archivio.lastampa.it/LaStampaArchivio/main/History/tmpl_viewObj.jsp?objid=6242885. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
5. ^ "‘Borghezio aggredito dagli autonomi’" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 2005-12-18. http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/12/18/borghezio-aggredito-dagli-autonomi.html. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
6. ^ "''International Herald Tribune''". International Herald Tribune. 2007-09-11. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/11/europe/EU-GEN-Belgium-Sept.-11-Demo.php. Retrieved 2007-11-12. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "‘Borghezio in cella a Bruxelles, l' Italia protesta’" (in Italian). Archiviostorico.corriere.it. 2007-09-12. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2007/settembre/12/Borghezio_cella_Bruxelles_Italia_protesta_co_9_070912021.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
8. ^ "Mladic, "Può essere trasferito all'Aja". Borghezio (Lega): "E' un patriota"" (in Italian). Repubblica.it. 2011-05-27. http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2011/05/27/news/mladic_moglie_e_figlio_in_tribunale_frattini_ora_l_ingresso_nella_ue-16824478/?ref=HREC1-5. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
9. ^ "Italien fordert Aufklärung nach Bilderberg-Vorfall" (in German). Tagesschau.sf.tv. 11 June 2011. http://www.tagesschau.sf.tv/Nachrichten/Archiv/2011/06/11/Schweiz/Italien-fordert-Aufklaerung-nach-Bilderberg-Vorfall. Retrieved 30 July 2011. 
10. ^ "Italian politician praising Norwegian murderer’s ideas is suspended from party in Prime Minister Berlusconi’s coalition". English.alarabiya.net. http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/30/160011.html. Retrieved 2011-08-01. 
11. ^ "‘Io, Borghezio, un obiettivo vivente’" (in Italian). Corriere.it. 2006-02-07. http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Politica/2006/02_Febbraio/07/borghezio.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 

External links

• European Parliament biography of Mario Borghezio (incl. Speeches, Questions and Motions)
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (Italian)

Persondata
Name	Borghezio, Mario
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Short description
Date of birth	1947-12-03
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death