Document #1098677
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
A report by DPA states that tolerance
toward gays has increased in recent years, particularly in the
country's northern cities of Milan and Bologna, but that "hard-line
machismo and conservatism" remains strong in Italy's southern
regions (4 Mar. 1998). In the DPA report, Arcigay president, Franco
Frillini, states that "the real problem of Italian gays is the
Catholic Church" since "Catholics rejected any reform that might
reduce discrimination." Similarly, The Irish Times stated
that "homophobia never seems far from the surface" and "to be gay
in Italy is to be forced to live underground" (11 Feb. 1998).
AFP reported in July 1998 that Pisa's city
council recognized the first homosexual marriage of two women by
legally registering it in the city's records (13 July 1998; also
see The Buffalo News 24 Oct. 1998). The Vatican strongly
protested the decision stating that it went against the traditional
family structure (ibid.). A November 1998 Newsweek article
reported that despite strong opposition from the Roman Catholic
Church, municipal governments in Pisa and Florence had voted to
recognize same-sex common-law marriages, thus entitling couples to
joint insurance and tax returns (23 Nov. 1998).
However, there are several reports of
murders and attempted murders of reportedly gay men in 1998.
The killing of Enrico Sini Luzi, a
Gentleman to the Pope and a professor of theology, was reported in
early January 1998 (Action Alert Mar. 1998; The Irish
Times 11 Feb. 1998; Sunday Telegraph 11 Jan. 1998).
According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission (IGLHRC) Action Alert, Luzi was a "closeted gay
man." The Sunday Telegraph states that Luzi was found dead
in his home, having been battered over the head with a candlestick.
Arcigay, one of Italy's gay organizations, attributed Luzi's death
to a "homophobic serial-killer" and stated that homophobia in Italy
had reached a "national emergency" level (ibid; The Irish
Times 11 Feb. 1998).
DPA reported in March 1998 that Paul Badea,
an illegal immigrant, had admitted to killing Luzi (4 Mar. 1998).
According to Badea's lawyer, Luzi had promised his client a job in
exchange for sexual favours, but Luzi did not deliver on his
promise (ibid.). The report states that some gay groups believe
there is a link between the killings of homosexuals and the
increasing influx of illegal immigrants into Italy, especially
those from Romania.
The Daily Telegraph reported a
number of killings in Italy that had sparked rumours of a so-called
"gay serial killer" (24 Jan. 1998). The August 1997 death of an
openly-gay American professor, Louis Inturrisi, in Rome was
connected with the death of Luzi (ibid.) Like Luzi, Inturrisi was
also killed in his home and the circumstances of his death were
similar to that of Luzi (ibid.; The Irish Times 11 Feb.
1998). The Daily Telegraph also reported the killings of
Count Alvise di Robilant, Dante Livorno and Mario Chiarani, all
"highly respectable semi-public figures."
On 28 January 1998, The Times
reported that a 20-year-old man from Calabria was the victim of
torture and attempted murder by the Mafia because he was gay. The
victim had been tortured and left for dead by relatives of the
65-year-old man with whom the young man was having an alleged
affair. The young man later went to the authorities to report the
crime, but then went into hiding.
The March 1998 Action Alert
summarizes IGLHRC's concerns in regard to "increased...surveillance
and harassment of transsexuals, bisexuals, lesbians, and gay men in
recent months." The report highlights Luzi's murder, the suicide of
a gay man in St. Peter's Square, arrests of members of a
transsexual, gay and lesbian group called Circolo di Cultura
Omosessuale "Mario Mieli," and police raids of homosexual meeting
places and discos. Please consult the attached IGLHRC Action
Alert report for additional information.
In April 1998, Piero Nottiani, an art
restorer, was the fourth case of a reported gay killing that year
(The Gazette 3 Apr. 1998; The Times 3 Apr. 1998).
According to the reports, Nottiani, who was also murdered in his
home with a hard object to the head, probably knew his assailant.
The gay community stated that Nottiani's death was the work of male
prostitutes from Eastern Europe and not of a so-called "gay serial
killer" (ibid.).
In The Irish Times, Franco
Frillini, president of Arcigay, is quoted as saying that up to 200
gay killings go unreported annually (11 Feb. 1998; also see DPA 4
Mar. 1998). However, according to the Sunday Telegraph,
Luzi's death in early January brought the reported toll of gay
killings to 21 in the last seven years.
For information on the gay and lesbian
groups, magazines, bars and clubs in Italy, please consult the
attached documents taken from the Internet.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Action Alert [San Francisco]. March
1998. "Rome Authorities Restrict Basic Liberties of Transsexuals,
Bisexuals, Lesbians, and Gays." [Internet] http://www.iglhrc.org/
world/westeurope/Italy1998Mar.html [Accessed 1 Feb. 1999]
Agence France Presse (AFP). 13 July
1998. "Vatican Renews Attack on Italy's First Gay Marriage."
(NEXIS)
The Buffalo News. 24 October
1998. "Pope Speaks Out Against Non-Marital Unions." (NEXIS)
The Daily Telegraph. 24 January
1998. Bruce Johnston. "Savage Killings of Civilised Men: A Murder
Spree in Italy Is Being Blamed on a Gay Serial Killer." (NEXIS)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 4 March
1998. Nicholas Rigillo. "Following Spate of Murders, Italian Gays
Declare State of Emergency." (NEXIS)
The Gazette [Montreal]. 3 April
1998. Bruce Johnston. "Italian Gay Community Wary After Fourth
Killing." (NEXIS)
The Irish Times. 11 February
1998. Paddy Agnew. "Gay Killings Raise Spectre of Homophobic, Macho
Society." (NEXIS)
Newsweek. 23 November 1998.
Carla Power. "Now It's the Gay Nineties." (NEXIS)
Sunday Telegraph. 11 January
1998. "Like so many people in Italy's jaded capital, Enrico Sini
Luzi led a double life..." (NEXIS)
The Times. 3 April 1998.
Richard Owen. "Fear Over Gay Serial Killer Revived in Italy."
(NEXIS)
_____. 28 January 1998. Richard Owen.
"Gay Man Tortured by Mafia." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Action Alert [San Francisco].
March 1998. "Rome Authorities Restrict Basic Liberties of
Transsexuals, Bisexuals, Lesbians, and Gays." [Internet] http://www.iglhrc.org/
world/westeurope/Italy1998Mar.html [Accessed 1 Feb. 1999]
Ambush Inc. 1998. "About the Local
Scene." [Internet] http://www.gaybars.com/
country/italy.htm [Accessed 2 Feb. 1999]
Yahoo. 1999. "Lesbians, Gays, and
Bisexuals." [Internet] http://www.yahoo.com/
Regional/Countries/I...nd_Culture/Lesbians_Gays_and_Bisexuals/
[Accessed 2 Feb. 1999]