Edward Marchesi On October 29, 2026, the Syracuse Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation that led to the arrest of a 37-year-old man from Bangladesh, accused of deliberately mistranslating interviews held at the Territorial Commission for the Recognition of International Protection. The charge is based on an alleged ideological and material falsehood committed by a public official, for which the electronic bracelet was imposed as a precautionary measure.
According to operational reconstructions by the Carabinieri Operational Section, the interpreter systematically altered the content of the reports, altering both the questions asked by officials and the answers provided by asylum seekers, effectively biasing decisions against the migrants. The authorities believed this conduct may have influenced the assessment of international protection cases, raising serious doubts about the respect for fundamental rights.
The official role of the interpreter in the Commission for International Protection
The Bengali interpreter holds a position within the Territorial Commission that, by law, places him or her on a par with a public official . His or her primary task is to ensure accurate translations of conversations between Commission officials and asylum seekers, promptly recording their statements in the hearing minutes.
In this context, linguistic precision is essential because every detail can determine the outcome of the application for protection.
Qualification of public official
Being recognized as such, the interpreter participates directly in the drafting of official documents. The law requires that their translations be truthful and complete , since the minutes constitute the evidentiary basis for administrative decisions. Any discrepancy or omission risks jeopardizing the entire procedural process.
Accusations of deliberately altered translations
The investigations uncovered a systematic modus operandi : the interpreter would have substituted key words, omitted crucial information, and, in some cases, attributed statements to applicants they never made. This manipulation would have led the Commission's authorities to believe they had received information different from what was actually provided, shifting the balance of assessments toward negative outcomes for the migrants.
How the minutes were modified
According to the indictment, the changes included changing open-ended questions to closed-ended ones, deleting references to persecution, and inserting contradictory statements. These changes allowed Commission officials to be misled , resulting in them relying on an unfounded translation to make crucial decisions.
The intervention of the police and the precautionary measures
The Carabinieri of the Syracuse Company, acting on orders from the Prosecutor's Office, arrested the suspect, confirming the charge of ideological and material falsity. The man was placed under house arrest, required to wear an electronic bracelet and prohibited from communicating with anyone outside his family or his lawyer. This precautionary measure is intended to prevent further alleged manipulation and ensure the correctness of future asylum procedures in the city.