Homophobic attack in the historic center of Salerno. The victim, Samir, a 32 year old originally from Honduras, had just left a bar in the old part of the city. He was walking away with the electric bike when a man who Samir immediately recognized stood in front of him. It was his former employerowner of a restaurant in the historic center, where Samir worked from February 2022 until August of that same year, when he decided to leave his job due to constant mistreatment suffered by the owner himself.
The man attacked the 32-year-old, grabbed him by the hair and made him fall to the ground. Then after yanking it, he has it hit several times in the face with punches and slaps. Physical violence accompanied by offensive phrases, many of which of a homophobic nature: “Ri…, illegal immigrant of m…, thief, stinking disgusting”, would be just some of the insults of the attacker addressed to the victim, who was meanwhile on the ground due to the blows he suffered.
Samir is managed to escape the attacker’s grasp and, having picked up his bicycle, he ran away even though his former employer continued to chase him. At that point he asked for help from 118 and the police. According to what was told to the rescuers, the attacker had it accused of leaving it without staffthreatening to attack him again because he knew the address of his home. Samir lives in Baronissi with his partner to whom he is linked by a civil union.
The attack was made public by Arcigay of Salerno, which asked for intervention from the institutions, also giving the victim availability for legal and psychological support and announcing the desire to become a civil party in a possible trial. «I am shocked, scared – said the victim – and I think of all the people who suffer this type of attack. These people must be stopped, our community must wake up. Now I just want to find my serenity again and have justice, for me and for all victims like me.”
Commissioner Arcigay, Francesco Napoli, contacted Samir to express his solidarity with him. «These episodes are part of that climate of violence and discrimination which is increasingly evident in our country – said Napoli – all this must be stopped”.
