Summary
Italian police in Brescia face allegations of degrading treatment after seven female climate activists from Extinction Rebellion claimed they were forced to remove their underwear and perform squats during questioning.
The activists, detained after a protest against Leonardo, an aerospace company, accused police of singling out women for this treatment.
Police denied misconduct, stating the procedure was to search for dangerous objects.
The incident has prompted calls for an investigation from opposition politicians amid debates over a controversial security bill targeting climate activists with harsher penalties.
The thing that people in the comments missing is the “activists” part. Here is more details from the article:
The activists were among 22 people brought to Brescia’s main police station on Monday morning after officers interrupted a protest held outside the Italian aerospace and defence firm Leonardo’s factory.
Activists have alleged that while there they were subjected to degrading treatment at the hands of police officers.
In a video posted online, one member of Extinction Rebellion, the global environmental movement, said: “They asked me to undress, take off my underwear and do three squats, ‘for checks’, according to them.”
The woman claimed the treatment was “only reserved for the females, not the males”.