Two young British men were allegedly caught up in a series of harrowing sexual assault attacks on tourists celebrating New Year’s Eve in Milan.
The British couple are said to have been with six young Belgian students when they were allegedly attacked by a mob of youths.
Italian police are investigating complaints made by the couple and the students that they were surrounded by dozens of men and groped.
Students had gathered to watch the fireworks in Piazza del Duomo outside Milan Cathedral, where men in balaclavas were filmed shooting fireworks into the crowd.
They said they felt unsafe and tried to leave, but suddenly encountered a mob of 30 to 40 men shouting ‘vaffanculo Italia’ (fuck Italy) ‘polizia di merda’ (‘shit police’).
“That’s when they touched our bodies, our clothes, and some of us, including me, inside our clothes,” one of the students, Laura, told Belgian media.
‘Three of us four girls were sexually assaulted. A friend had her breasts touched and her buttocks touched. (The men) put their hands in my pants. He went very far.’
Belgian outlet Sudinfo reports that the group was joined by an English man and woman who joined them in filing a formal complaint.
The story recalls the horrific mass attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015-16, when hundreds of women were sexually assaulted, harassed and robbed during celebrations near the city’s main train station and its iconic cathedral.
Laura Barbier (right), 20, a student from Liège, Belgium, had traveled to Milan, Italy, with five friends aged between 20 and 21 to celebrate the New Year.
Images from New Year’s Eve in Piazza del Duomo show chaotic scenes
The group of students watched the fireworks in Piazza del Duomo, outside Milan Cathedral, where men in balaclavas were filmed causing chaotic scenes by shooting fireworks into the crowd earlier that night.
Belgian outlet Sudinfo reported on Friday that the two British citizens, “a girl and her boyfriend,” met the six young travelers from Liège in Milan on the afternoon of December 31.
They then reportedly decided to stay together and traveled to Piazza del Duomo to ring in the new year.
The students claimed to have been attacked by a group of men between 20 and 40 years old.
“The boys tried to defend us, but they couldn’t do anything,” said Laura, 20 years old.
“There were so many people around us that we couldn’t move.”
After witnessing the alleged assaults, the British couple “went to the police and filed a complaint.”
Milan prosecutors have since opened an investigation into allegations that the young Belgians were sexually assaulted by men identified only as coming from North Africa, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. information.
‘Three of us four girls were sexually assaulted. A friend had her breasts touched and her buttocks touched. (The men) put their hands in my pants. It went too far,” Laura (pictured) told Belgian broadcaster RTL.
But Laura claimed that when she and her friends went to local police to report the attacks, they were told “it would be useless” before they were fired.
Investigators will now try to understand whether the British victims were attacked by the same people or if the attacks occurred at a different time, Fanpage information.
Laura, who has since been receiving psychological counseling for her ordeal in a hospital in Belgium, said she wanted to speak out to prevent similar attacks happening to other young women.
She told RTL: ‘I can’t let this happen like this. I thought it only happened in the movies. I can’t stay silent.
Investigators now believe the testimony is “detailed and credible,” according to Sudinfo.
France advises report sexual harassment by telephone or to the police at a police station.
The attack has been compared to the scenes on New Year’s Eve in the German city of Cologne in late 2015, when women reported being sexually assaulted and harassed during celebrations near the cathedral.
The situation caused particular outrage after Cologne police insisted there had been no major problems, before local media revealed the true extent of the attacks.
More than 1,200 criminal complaints were filed, including more than 500 reports of sexual assault.
The attacks in Germany were reportedly carried out by large groups of men described as predominantly of North African and Arab descent.