A violent attack on a group of
underage Egyptian asylum seekers that has left a 16-year-old boy
in a coma must be condemned as "an episode of intolerable
xenophobia", the chair of a parliamentary commission of inquiry
into the treatment of migrants said Tuesday.
"We must severely condemn and not underestimate what
happened," said House MP Federico Gelli of the center-left
Democratic Party (PD).
The teenage victim named only as M.M. remains hospitalized
in a coma with a reserved prognosis after three Italian men
pistol-whipped and beat him and three friends with a baseball
bat in the Sicilian village of San Cono on Saturday afternoon.
The boy has undergone head surgery to drain a massive
haematoma.
Two other Egyptians aged 16 and 17 were also slightly
injured in the attack. One of them filmed the aggression on his
mobile phone, allowing investigators to identify the attackers.
Three men, Antonino Spitale, 18, and brothers Giacomo and
Davide Severo, 32 and 23, were arrested on Sunday on charges of
attempted murder conspiracy, battery, and illegal weapons
possession.
The Egyptians are residents at a reception centre for
unaccompanied minors in San Michele di Ganzaria and were
returning home from a weekly market in San Como when the
attackers drove up on them in a car.
The video shows the attackers shouting epithets at the
victims, such as "Pieces of sh**, don't come back to town" and
"stay away from our women" while the Egyptian boys can be heard
pleading with them to stop.
Police are seeking another two men who remained in the car
during the assault.
"(The incident) must also lead us to reflect on the climate
of mutual hatred and distrust in the small Sicilian village,
where altercations between Italians and asylum seekers have been
ongoing" Gelli added.
"This latest episode appears to be just the tip of the
iceberg of an atmosphere of revenge... We hope the young
immigrant will soon be out of the coma".
A judge is expected to confirm the detention of the three
attackers later in the day.
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