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Violence on New Year's Eve in Piazza Duomo: The story of Belgian tourists: "We were trapped, they were groping us under our clothes, we felt everything"

Silvia Scurati: "Hundreds of foreign kids, immigrants, who were chanting hatred and violence towards our country, integrating means first of all loving and respecting the country you live in"

Violence on New Year's Eve in Piazza Duomo: The story of Belgian tourists: "We were trapped, they were groping us under our clothes, we felt everything."

On New Year's Eve, in the central Piazza Duomo of Milano, traditionally a place of celebration and festivity, has turned into a nightmare for a group of young Belgian tourists. According to Laura Barbier, a 20-year-old from Liège, her group of six friends, four girls and two boys, were sexually assaulted by a large group of men. The story, reported by a Belgian newspaper, has shocked public opinion and prompted Italian authorities to launch preliminary investigations.

The story of the attack

The episode allegedly occurred shortly after midnight on December 31, 2024, near the entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a few steps from Piazza Duomo. Laura described the group as surrounded by a pack of 30-40 men, a number that made any attempt to escape impossible. “We were trapped and helpless in the face of such violence. They held our hands, while others groped us under our clothes and above. Despite our jackets and scarves, we felt everything,” Laura said. According to the young woman, the attack lasted about ten minutes, a time that in the confusion of the crowd seemed interminable.

The 20-year-old added that the group never fell to the ground thanks to the huge crowd that made it difficult to even move. However, the trauma suffered was considerable, leaving the young people in shock. “When we managed to free ourselves, we headed towards the exit of the Galleria, in Piazza Scala, where we told what had happened to a policewoman present on site,” she explained.

Confusion and lack of immediate reporting

Although the group sought assistance on site, there are currently no official reports or requests for assistance to law enforcement during the night of December 31.

Laura chose to speak publicly through the Belgian media to bring the story to light, explaining: "I decided to tell everything because there is no information about these events in the Italian newspapers. This week we will file a complaint here in Belgium." She also declared her willingness to collaborate with the Italian authorities, should she be contacted for further investigations.

Investigations underway

Following Laura's statements, the Public Prosecutor's Office Milano has opened a preliminary investigation for sexual assault. Investigators from the Flying Squad are working to verify the facts and identify those responsible. Specialists are analyzing images from numerous surveillance cameras installed in Piazza Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, in the hope of reconstructing the episode precisely.

The investigators will contact Laura Barbier to collect a detailed testimony that can help identify the exact dynamics of the attack and the specific places where the event would have occurred. According to the authorities, the data provided by the girl will be essential to calibrate further checks, both on the recorded images and on the checks carried out that night.

Violenze a Capodanno in Piazza Duomo: Il racconto delle turiste belghe: "Eravamo intrappolati, ci palpeggiavano sotto i vestiti, sentivamo tutto"

Security in Piazza Duomo during New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, the area of ​​Piazza Duomo was under strict surveillance by an impressive security device deployed by the Police Headquarters. Milano. About 200 police officers, carabinieri and financial police were distributed in strategic points of the square and along the main entrances, including via Mengoni, via Marconi, and corso Vittorio Emanuele.

Inside the area, there were 46 plainclothes investigators to monitor any criminal incidents such as thefts or assaults, while other mobile squads were ready to intervene if necessary. However, despite the security device, the assault described by Laura would appear to have occurred in an area partially covered by the crowd and not visible to the officers.

The public debate and the reactions of the institutions

The incident sparked a heated public debate, amplified by the relaunch of the statements by the Northern League MEP Silvia Sardone. The episode was brought up as an example of the need to intensify controls and improve security measures at large public events.

Victims and psychological trauma

Laura and her friends are still deeply affected by the experience. The young Belgian explained that she has asked for psychological support and has already made an appointment at the university hospital in Liège. “We are all still in shock. The feeling of helplessness and the memory of that night haunt us,” she said.

The New Year's Eve affair in Piazza Duomo raises crucial questions about the management of security at large public events. While on the one hand the massive surveillance system has ensured the control of thousands of people and prevented more serious crime episodes, on the other hand it highlights the difficulty of monitoring every corner in highly crowded contexts.

The ongoing investigations represent a fundamental step to ascertain the facts and identify any perpetrators. In the meantime, the case has already generated a deep reflection on the need to improve prevention strategies and to guarantee a safe environment for everyone, even during large-scale events. It now remains to be seen whether Laura's formal complaint and the analysis of the cameras will provide decisive elements to bring justice to the victims and prevent similar episodes in the future.

Criticisms from Regional Councillor Silvia Scurati

“The very serious events that occurred on New Year's Eve in Milano - Scurati declares – they remember what already happened in 2022, this year a group of Belgian girls reported being groped by a group of foreign boys, but not only that, we saw videos of hundreds of foreign boys, immigrants, who were inciting hatred and violence towards our country, all this in the deafening silence of the Mayor of the Milanese PD Beppe Sala, it is also the demonstration of the failure of integration policies even towards second-generation boys, this is a concrete response to those who would like to give easy citizenship through the Iou scholae and the Iou soli, this is not integration, integrating means first of all loving and respecting the country in which you live”.

Two foreigners arrested on New Year's Eve repatriated Milano

Meanwhile, with a special flight today arranged by the Ministry of the Interior for the repatriation of illegal immigrants, the two foreigners who had been stopped on New Year's Eve in Piazza Duomo were also removed. Milano and subsequently held in the CPR in via Corelli.

Alessandro Corbetta Group leader of the League in the Lombardy Region

“Great news the repatriation of two Tunisian illegal immigrants stopped on New Year's Eve in Piazza Duomo in Milano, now let's also identify the remaining foreigners belonging to the large gang guilty of the riots. This is the right path to follow to combat the phenomenon of groups of foreigners, or individuals, dedicated to damaging, dealing, robbing or raping on our territory. I hope that this measure will be implemented on a national scale, repatriating or remigrating all those illegal foreigners who commit crimes in our country, or who deliberately do not want to integrate. As the League has long been requesting, a crackdown on the release of citizenships should also be implemented, of which Italy is among the first European states in terms of number of concessions. Those who come to Italy to work and integrate into our culture are welcome, otherwise it is right to remove these people from our cities and simply take them back to their country of origin, a concept summarized in the term remigration".

Fabrizio Cecchetti, Member of the League and Secretary of the Office of the Presidency of the Chamber

"The two foreigners were identified on New Year's Eve and then held in the detention centre. repatriation (CPR) of via Corelli and finally repatriated today by the Viminale they are returning home in record time after having demonstrated total disrespect towards our country. This confirms the indisputable usefulness of the CPR to free our streets from hostile and dangerous individuals”.

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