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Italy transfers officers who shot Berlin attacker to 'secret' location

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Italy transfers officers who shot Berlin attacker to 'secret' location
Journalists gather near the site where Amri was killed. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

The two Italian policemen who became instant heroes after they stopped and killed the Berlin Christmas market attacker have been transferred to new posts, Italian media reported on Sunday.

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Italy's interior ministry has granted transfers from Milan in "recognition of an extraordinary act," reported RaiNews, quoting police sources while Corriere Della Sera described their destinations as "secret".

Luca Scata, a rookie officer aged 29, and fellow officer Christian Movio, 36, stopped 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri on December 23rd in Milan, where he had fled after driving a truck into a Berlin crowd four days earlier, killing 12.

READ MORE: What was the Berlin attack suspect doing in Milan?

They approached Amri after seeing him loitering around Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station. After Amri fired at Movio, hitting him in the shoulder, Scata shot him dead.

The officers were hailed nationwide for their actions, not least by the country's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

READ MORE: Italy hails rookie cop who shot dead Europe's most wanted man

But the praise began to evaporate after messages the pair had posted online surfaced, some racist in character and others suggesting support for Italy's fascist era of the 1930s and 1940s.

Scata published to Instagram pictures of former fascist leader Benito Mussolini and also a selfie showing him making a fascist-style salute, arm outstretched.

The men's social media profiles were removed and they were both placed under police surveillance amid fears for their safety.

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