Spain: Protester Accused of Sexual Harassment for Kissing Cop’s Mask
Telegraph
December 14, 2013
A photo of a female protester kissing an Italian riot policeman hailed as an emblematic image of peace in Italy, has not gone down well with a police union, which wants the protester prosecuted for sexual violence.
Nina De Chiffre, 20, a student who was protesting last month against the construction of a new train link in northern Italy, was photographed as she kissed the lowered helmet visor of a riot policeman.
The photo went viral and was quickly held up as an example of non-violent protest, until COISP, a union representing Italian police officers, announced it had lodged a complaint with Turin prosecutors.
“We have accused the protester of sexual violence and insulting a public official,” said Franco Maccari, the union’s general secretary. “We fully expect an investigation to start.”
Mr Maccari said he was not prepared to brush off the incident as a peaceful gesture.
“If the policeman had kissed her, world war three would have broken out,” he said. “Or what if I had patted her on the behind? She would have been outraged.
“So if she does that to a man on duty, should it be tolerated?”
Miss De Chiffre has also done her bit to spoil the photo’s apparent message of non-violence, claiming she was trying to provoke the officer into reacting.
“No peace message,” she wrote on Facebook. “I would hang all these disgusting pigs upside down.”