The Italian Senate on Wednesday approved a controversial new bill aimed at cracking down on demonstrations and expanding legal protections for law enforcement.

The Security Decree, proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, passed by a vote of 109 to 69 with one abstention, following its approval in the lower house last week.

The law introduces stricter penalties for protest-related offences, including property damage and disruptive sit-ins, and grants broader powers to law enforcement. It allows intelligence agents to commit certain crimes for national security purposes without facing prosecution.

It also introduces the crime of injuring a police officer while on duty and allocates up to €10,000 to cover legal fees for officers investigated over their conduct on the job.

“With the final approval of the Security Decree in the Senate, the Government takes a decisive step to strengthen the protection of citizens, the most vulnerable groups and our men and women in uniform,” Meloni said on Wednesday.

Other measures include longer sentences for inmates who riot or disobey orders in prisons and migrant detention centers, and new rules targeting pickpockets on public transport and especially those claiming pregnancy to avoid jail.

The decree, which Meloni has promoted under her promise of “a safer Italy,” has sparked demonstrations across Italy in recent months, with human rights bodies accusing the government of criminalizing dissent, limiting civil liberties and curtailing the right to protest.

The law will alarm — and provide ammunition to — Meloni’s opponents, who have highlighted links between her Brothers of Italy party and fascism. Suppressing dissent and increasing police powers are standard moves in the fascist playbook.

Last December, Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty raised alarm over the bill in a letter to Senate President Ignazio La Russa, saying it may violate European human rights standards — particularly those shielding protesters, migrants and young activists.

Before the final vote on Wednesday center-left opposition senators staged a protest, sitting on the Senate floor and chanting “shame.”

“It is a decree that is not about more security, but about more repression,” said Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein.