Gay attacked in Rome: ''First the insults, then they pinned me down and punched''
had a ring with which he injured me.'' This was the fifth attack in the capital since the beginning of
June.
Rome, June 29 (Adnkronos / Ign) - They screamed “’faggot shit,’ then they pinned me down and
punched me in the face,” so states the 28 year old gay man who was attacked at approximately
5:30 am this morning by two men while buying cigarettes from a vending machine on via Lvrea, near
Ponte Lungo in Rome.
According to the victim, after they delivered the first insult, the attackers approached him and
continued to inveigh against him in a threatening manner. The 28 year old asked what they wanted
and then was physically attacked. The victim told Adnkronos: “One of them grabbed me by the
wrists, pinning me down, while the other took the opportunity to punch me in the face. He had a ring
on his finger, which injured me. I started screaming, trying to wriggle free, until they fled.”
The young man was treated at the Umberto I Polyclinic. He intends to submit the medical report
and file a complaint with the police. He notes, “I went to the San Giovanni Police Station and I
have to go again with all of the documents for the lawsuit. I will be aided by a lawyer from the
association ‘Di’ Gay Project’ and will present photos of the injuries I sustained.”
“We are facing the umpteenth homophobic aggression,” declared Imma Battaglia, president of Di’
Gay Project, “The attacks are becoming more and more frequent. Rome is now the theater of too
much violence. Demonstrations of solidarity with the victims are not enough. It is time to prioritize
the issue of security at all relevant levels of government, beginning with the city administration,
which should strengthen supervision and control, up to the Parliament, which should finally approve
an anti-homophobia law that guarantees more severe penalties when an assault is motivated by
homophobic prejudices.”
The attack this morning was the fifth episode of its kind in the capital since the beginning of the
month. The most violent attack occurred on June 14, when a group of four boys, between the
ages of 25 and 30, stoned Guido Mirth, a well-known gay rights activist. Mirth, who sustained head
injuries, bruises, and several broken ribs, received a prognosis of 30 days.
Another complaint was filed on June 9, by a young man from Salerno, age 23, who stated that he
was insulted and attacked at dawn near Campo de' Fiori because he is homosexual. Two other
separate attacks were reported by a transvestite and a pair of lesbians. Between June 1 and 4, the
transvestite suffered repeated threats, insults and injuries. The first incident occurred on the free
beach free of Ardea, where the transvestite was approached by a group of four young men who
started to insult her with phrases like “you suck, we kill transvestites,” and then accosted her with
wooden racquets. In the days immediately following, her car was vandalized. The vandals broke
glass and smeared feces and a banana on the roof of the vehicle. The transvestite filed a complaint
with the Ardea police. The attack on the lesbian couple took place in Velletri, where the two young
women were insulted by a group of young men in a pub, chased, and threatened with kicks and
punches to their car and cries of “dirty lesbian.”

