For Michael Cicogna, known in Tuscany as an actor of entertaining travesti cabaret shows, a stay in Sardinia turned into a nightmare. A few hours after arriving on the island he was victim of a deplorable episode of homophobia and transphobia by the Sassari Police Headquarters, which occurred in July, but which has only now come to public attention.
The Tuscan “Drag Queen,” resident in Prato, had arrived in Sardinia less than 24 hours earlier when, on the way to Alghero where he was to make arrangements for some shows, he stopped at a service area near Sassari and found himself, completely unaware that the area was also frequented by prostitutes, in the middle of a raid against prostitution and illegal immigration.
It was no use explaining that his outfit—flashy and typical of cabaret shows, certainly not to "lure occasional customers" on a scorching summer night, as the expulsion order issued by the Sassari Police Chief stated—was for the nightclub and his acting career. Cicogna's mere appearance as a woman was enough to be taken to the police station, where he was held in police custody for 18 hours and locked in precarious sanitary conditions in a room with the other detainees. He was then issued a mandatory expulsion order, banning him from returning to Sassari for the next three years, and also ordering the "repatriation" of the unfortunate Tuscan actor.
Arcigay expresses its concern for this evident episode of clear homophobic and transphobic nature, asking for the annulment of the provision and compensation for the damages suffered by Cicogna on the basis of a provision of dubious legitimacyThe police commissioner's decision is essentially unmotivated, completely disproportionate to what happened, and devoid of factual evidence to justify either the treatment reserved for Cicogna or the issuing of the expulsion order.
With the measure, which cites a standard phrase stating that Cicogna "is a resident of the municipality of Tortona and not of Sassari, a place where, since he does not carry out any work, he has no reason to reside," the Police Commissioner effectively calls into question the right to freedom of movement guaranteed by Article 16 of the Constitution, preventing an Italian citizen from traveling within his own country without adequate justification! Furthermore, it causes enormous damage to Sardinia's local authorities, particularly the Municipality and Province of Sassari, as well as to the regional government: wasn't Sardinia a tourist destination? So why do those who don't work there have no reason to reside there? Or did the Police Commissioner perhaps mean only lesbians, homosexuals, transgender people, and transvestites?
Arcigay condemns the climate of discrimination that has developed in Italy, unworthy of a constitutional state, and calls on local institutions to intervene promptly to defend civil coexistence and Sardinia's spirit of welcome and hospitality.
We also reiterate our firm condemnation of the policy of "fighting prostitution and illegal immigration" based solely on the repression not of those who exploit prostitution, but rather of those who are its victims, that is, the prostitutes themselves, who are often humiliated and mistreated even by the institutions, instead of starting a process of "mediation", dialogue and information to return to a situation of serene legality.
Aurelio Mancuso, National President of Arcigay
Davide Buzzetti, Regional President of Arcigay Tuscany