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Italy Must Drop Unjust Charges Against Gay Rights Activists: Human Rights Watch

© Fotolia / pekkic Human Rights Watch has urged Italian prosecutors on Thursday to drop charges against six gay rights activists for disturbing the peace in a demonstration in Perugia, Italy in March.
Human Rights Watch has urged Italian prosecutors on Thursday to drop charges against six gay rights activists for disturbing the peace in a demonstration in Perugia, Italy in March. - Sputnik International
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Human Rights Watch has urged Italian prosecutors on Thursday to drop charges against six gay rights activists for disturbing the peace in a demonstration in Perugia, Italy in March.

MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Human Rights Watch has urged Italian prosecutors on Thursday to drop charges against six gay rights activists for disturbing the peace in a demonstration in Perugia, Italy in March.

"The charges would be laughable if they didn't reflect exactly the anti-gay sentiment the activists are fighting against," senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch, Judith Sunderland said in a statement published on the organization's website.

"The public prosecutor should withdraw these charges immediately," she added.

Three men and three women protesting an anti-gay marriage group called Sentinelle in Piedi, or Standing Sentries, on March 29 were all accused of disturbing the peace while four individuals were charged of holding an unlawful demonstration, according to Human Rights Watch. A police report also accused two men of kissing during the protest "in front of many families with children and adolescents many of whom are minors, leaving passersby disgusted by such a demonstration," the organization reported.

The Standing Sentries have conducted silent demonstrations against same-sex marriage in the country since 2013 often clashing with counter-protesters.

Several Italian cities including Grosseto, Bologna, and Naples, have begun registering same-sex marriages arranged outside of the country since April. However on October 7, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano issued a circular to all representatives of the Interior Ministry in Italy's provinces requiring local authorities to withdraw any such measures. In protest of the order, Milan and Rome began registering same-sex marriages.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the government is currently preparing draft legislation to create civil unions for same-sex couples, while a draft bill for civil unions has already been submitted to the Senate Justice Commission for examination on October 19.

Same-sex marriage is legal in seventeen countries worldwide, including nine in the European Union (EU), as well as Norway and Iceland and in parts of Mexico and the United States. Thirteen EU countries recognize some form of civil unions for same-sex couples.

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