Turin, hunt for sexual attacker: gang raids wrong shop
Following the arrest and release of a man accused of assault on a thirteen-year-old girl, groups of young people attack the shops of unrelated individuals. Police increase patrols in the neighbourhood.
Turin, near-lynching in northern district: police intensify patrols
According to Google News IT — Crime (it), in the northern suburbs of Turin a manhunt has erupted following the arrest — and subsequent release — of a shopkeeper accused of sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl.
Jalal Uddin, owner of a minimarket adjacent to the shop where the alleged assault took place, faced a tense morning. Whilst serving customers, a young boy on TikTok, pretending to be a journalist, displayed images of his premises, incorrectly identifying it as the location of the abuse. "I am not that man. I simply have the misfortune of having a minimarket next to the one everyone is talking about," said Uddin.
Three evenings earlier, whilst he was closing the shop, about a dozen young people burst into his premises shouting: "You, you're the one in the news." They were Italian, from who knows where, searching for the suspect — arrested on Saturday for sexual assault and released on Monday by the judge for preliminary investigations. That man is now untraceable.
Exasperated by the false information circulating on social media and fearing further reprisals, Uddin wrote by hand on a white sheet with a red marker: "I am not the man under investigation for assaults." He posted the sign in the middle of the shop window.
Fear among residents, appeals against vigilante justice
Tension has spread among shopkeepers and residents of the same stretch of street. Giovanni Scolaro, newsagent in the area, stated: "We do not want a manhunt to break out; what has happened should not be exploited by certain parties seeking votes."
Nadia Conticelli, regional councillor for the Democratic Party who lives nearby, raised a different issue: "Why, when it comes to gender-based violence, is the topic always focused on something else? There are two sexual assaults here. But the focus shifts to the minimarkets."
Claudio Cerrato, head of the Democratic Party group on Turin city council, made an appeal to the authorities: "We call on the prefect and questor to intervene. Violent escalations and forms of vigilante justice must be avoided; it is essential to prevent such a serious matter from feeding a spiral of anger."
The police headquarters increases patrols, investigation into the gang
To contain the risk of further incidents, police headquarters has stepped up controls in the area, with more patrol cars in circulation especially on the stretch where shops run by Bengali, Pakistani, Nigerian and Indian men are located — all potential targets of violence in recent days.
Officers interviewed Jalal Uddin as an injured party regarding the break-in he suffered and obtained images from surveillance cameras in an attempt to identify members of the group. Police are also ready to investigate whoever wrote "infamous paedophile" on the shutter of the minimarket where the alleged crimes took place. To proceed, however, a complaint from the owner is necessary; he is currently abroad. The premises have remained closed for days, with television crew tripods planted outside for five days.
Hatred also online: insults to the judge and the suspect's defence lawyer
Violence has not been limited to the street. Social media is filled with insults and threats against the judge for preliminary investigations who ordered the suspect's release. Defence lawyer Francesca D'Urzo received the same treatment — online insults and anonymous phone calls from strangers — simply for practising her profession.
The investigation: hearing at the Court of Review on 14 September
On the judicial front, investigators are working to identify a second victim: a woman who appears in the video of the assault on the thirteen-year-old approximately 40 minutes before the incident and who is said to have suffered sexual abuse herself. Even in the absence of a formal complaint from her, public prosecutors Dionigi Tibone and Eleonora Sciorella can proceed ex officio, incorporating the case into the investigation coordinated by prosecutor Giovanni Bombardieri.
Accepting the appeal by the public prosecutor's office, which requested pre-trial custody in prison for the suspect, the Court of Review has scheduled the hearing for 14 September. The prosecutors believe the facts and criminal responsibility are already evident, forecasting swift closure of the investigation.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)