Leading Italian presidential candidate, Giorgia Meloni, has been criticised for sharing footage of the rape of a Ukrainian woman who was attacked by a migrant from Guinea.
The rape, which was captured on video by someone in an overlooking building, happened in the Italian town of Piacenza last Sunday morning.
The victim who is reported to be 55 years of age is said to have been heard pleading to God and the Holy Spirit to save her from her assailant.
🇮🇹 Brothers of Italy leader and presumptive next PM, Giorgia Meloni, hit back at left-wing parties after they claimed she was exploiting the rape of a Ukrainian woman by posting a video of the crime on social media. pic.twitter.com/Vv7zcKecr3
— European Insider (@Europa_Insider) August 22, 2022
Meloni shared the footage on her social media reportedly saying:
“One cannot remain silent in the face of this atrocious episode of sexual violence against a Ukrainian woman carried out in daytime in Piacenza by an asylum seeker,”
She continued, “A hug to this woman. I will do everything I can to restore security to our cities.”
The media and political opponents jumped on Meloni, whose Italian Brothers (Fratelli d’Italia or FdI) party represents a return to Christian and traditional family values, as taking political advantage of the assault because the attacker is a migrant.
Yahoo News reports political rivals saying that using the images was “indecent” and that “a prominent Italian writer of Somali heritage, accused Meloni of exploiting the rape victim.”
Meloni had previously called for a naval blockade of North Africa as it has been reported that Italy is struggling “to grapple with a massive influx of illegal migration that’s witnessed more than 45,000 unvetted foreigners—most from Tunisia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Syria— reach Italian shores since the beginning of 2022 alone”.
The European Conservative writes that Meloni also “called for the establishment of humanitarian facilities throughout North Africa’s migration hotspots to assist destitute migrants—and to better control migratory flows.”