The far-right leader, who is leading the race to become Italy’s next prime minister, tweeted the murky video late Sunday, saying she could not remain silent in the face of “this horrific episode of sexual violence.” Ms Meloni explained on Twitter that she shared the quote, which was originally published on a newspaper website, in order to “express solidarity with the victim, condemn what happened and obviously demand justice”. However, she was criticized by her political opponents and human rights activists, who accused her of adding to the victim’s misery by sharing the video without her consent. The post was removed from Twitter on Tuesday morning and there was no immediate response from Ms Meloni. It was taken in the northern city of Piacenza, and local authorities said the 55-year-old woman was attacked on a sidewalk in the early hours of Sunday by an asylum seeker from Guinea. Police confirmed the man had been arrested and said he has been taken into custody as inquiries continue. The video was taken by someone in an apartment overlooking the street and the images were then blurred before being posted online, making it impossible to identify the victim, but his cries could be heard in the audio. Italian authorities said they were looking into how the video was released. “The dissemination in the media of videos depicting the criminal episode is being thoroughly investigated,” said Piacenza prosecutor Grazia Pradella. Read more from Sky News: Why the fall of Mario Draghi will trouble many Western leaders The state supervisory authority in charge of protecting personal data said it was also looking into “possible responsibilities on the part of persons who, for various reasons and for different purposes, have (posted) it”. Ms Meloni and her right-wing allies are topping the polls ahead of national elections on 25 September and widely expected to win power. Her Brothers of Italy party looks set to take the most seats in parliament, putting her in pole position to become Italy’s first female prime minister.
