Italian police are investigating alleged sexual attacks on female tourists who were surrounded by a group of around 40 men during New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Thousands had gathered in Milan’s historic Piazza Duomo in the centre of the city to celebrate the end of 2024, including a group of six young women from Belgium.
Authorities established a so-called “red zones” in parts of the piazza where anyone deemed suspicious, or with a criminal record, could be asked to leave.
However, it’s reported a group of males, carrying Palestinian and other flags, surrounded the Belgian women and put their hands up their skirts and in their tops.
Other women were also reportedly subjected to similar depraved attacks, with a South African, several tourists from Spain and South America, and a British woman also complaining of incidents.
Italian media said on Friday (January 10) that the police were trying to establish if the alleged attacks were planned and coordinated.
Several news sites claimed a concept known in Arabic as “taharrush gamea” or “taharrush jama’i'”, meaning “collective harrassment” was being investigated.
According to the Telegraph, police from Milan have travelled to Belgium to interview the women who were allegedly attacked and have obtained video footage from the night.
It’s claimed the men who allegedly carried out the attacks were of North African or South Asian origin, and the nature of the incident echoes a similar spate of attacks on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany, in 2016.
Laura Barbier, 20, one of the Belgian women allegedly attacked in Milan, claimed Belgian media: “What was meant to be a night of fun turned into a night of horror. We were trapped and helpless in the face of such violence.
“They held our arms up in the air while others touched us all over, including beneath our clothes, despite us wearing jackets and scarves. It lasted about 10 minutes, which seemed never-ending in such a situation.”
Speaking to the news site RTL, she added: “I can’t let this happen like this. I thought it only happened in the movies. I can’t keep quiet.”
Milan’s Piazza del Duomo is where many in the Northern Italian city gather to celebrate special occasions, and it’s the first time a New Year’s Eve event has been hit by allegations of sex assaults.
In 2021, police identified 15 young men and three boys aged 15 to 21, described as being of North African origin, who police were able to prove committed “three different episodes of violence” against nine women.
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