Justice Referendum: Schlein says, ‘Meloni treats Italians like fools; the government has released a rapist’

Rome, 13 March (LaPresse) – ‘Did you hear what Prime Minister Meloni said last night? Does it seem normal to you that a Prime Minister should treat Italians like fools and say that if the ‘no’ vote wins, there will be more rapists on the loose? It is a serious matter for a Prime Minister to exploit current events in this way.’ So said PD secretary Elly Schlein, speaking on ‘L’aria che tira’ on La7. ‘With regard to what Meloni said yesterday about rapists on the loose, I would like to point out that one rapist was released by this government and sent back to Libya on a state flight – Almasri,’ she added. “And if we are to talk about the risk of letting rapists go free, we had reached an agreement with Meloni on a consent law stating that only ‘yes’ means ‘yes’ and that any sexual act performed without consent is rape. We had voted unanimously in favour of it in the Chamber of Deputies, and four days later they scuppered that agreement; now they have tabled the Buongiorno bill, which would be a step backwards in the protection of women and victims. So I would be very wary of the instrumental use of current events,” he concluded.