The abduction and murder of a Socialist member of parliament in italy

On the 10th of June, Mr. Matteotti, a member of parliament and political secretary of the Italian Socialist Party, was seized by "unknown persons" and carried off in an automobile. All the parties in the Sejm resolved not to convene parliament until the fate of Matteotti was cleared up.

On the 14th of June the corpse of the deputy was found, shot through with bullets (more than 20 wounds, stabbed with a dagger and hacked into pieces); besides that, the deceased was covered all over with marks of beating with a club.

As could have been expected, the murderers turned out to be Fascists. Ten persons have been arrested, among them several journalists, along with the chief director of the official organ "Corriere d'Italia", who were afraid that Mr. Matteotti would expose some Fascist affair.

Mussolini declared in the empty Parliament that he would, as is proper, punish these criminals even with death, regardless of the fact that they are Fascists, because this murder is a threat no longer to Italian socialism, but to the Italian state…