Twitter removes rape video posted by Italian far-right leader Meloni

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ROME — Twitter on Tuesday deleted a video of a Ukrainian woman being raped by a migrant in an Italian town, posted by far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who is leading the race to become Italy’s next prime minister.

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Meloni tweeted the blurry video, originally posted on a newspaper’s website, on Sunday evening, saying she could not remain silent in the face of « this horrendous episode of sexual violence ».

The post was widely condemned by Meloni’s political rivals and human rights activists, who accused her of adding to the victim’s misery by spreading the video without her consent.

On Tuesday morning, the post was deleted and replaced with a comment from Twitter. « This Tweet violated the Twitter rules. »

There was no immediate response from Meloni.

On Monday, Meloni said on Twitter that she posted the video « to express solidarity with the victim, to condemn what happened and obviously to demand justice. »

Local authorities in the northern town of Plaisance say the 55-year-old Ukrainian woman was assaulted on a sidewalk early on Sunday by a Guinean asylum seeker. Police confirmed his arrest and said the man is being held as the investigation continues.

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The incident was filmed by someone in an apartment overlooking the street. Footage later uploaded was blurry, making it impossible to identify the victim, but his screams could be heard clearly on the audio.

Italian authorities said they are investigating how the video was released.

« The dissemination in the media of videos illustrating the criminal episode is the subject of an in-depth investigation », declared the prosecutor of Plaisance, Grazia Pradella.

The state’s personal data protection watchdog said it was also looking at « possible liabilities on the part of people who, for various reasons and for different purposes, (published) it. » .

Meloni and his right-wing allies are leading the polls ahead of the Sept. 25 national election and are widely expected to win power. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party looks set to win the most seats in parliament, putting her in pole position to become Italy’s first female prime minister.