The death of a migrant who was attacked in broad daylight in central Italy has sparked outrage. The victim has been named as Alika Ogorchukwu, a married father of two. His wife, named as Charity Oriachi, could not contain her tears as she told media how she was shown the body of her husband lying on the ground. Her family had lived in Italy for a long time, she said, stressing that her husband had never sought any trouble.
The assault on the Nigerian street trader by another man in Civitanova Marche town center was captured on video. The recording, reportedly made by onlookers without any attempt to intervene, shows the victim being held to the ground by a white man. A 32-year-old Italian has been arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery. The video of the attack - which has been widely circulated on Italian news websites and social media - has shocked the community, with many highlighting the "indifference" of witnesses.
Hundreds of people from the local Nigerian community took to the streets of Civitanova Marche, in Marche region, to demand justice. The attack has also been condemned by Italian politicians. Enrico Letta, the leader of the left-wing Democratic Party, said what happened was dismaying. "Unheard of ferocity. Widespread indifference. There can be no justification," he wrote in a tweet.
The suspect - a white man named as Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo - has been ordered to remain in jail as the investigation continues. His defense lawyer told the media the suspect had said he was sorry and denied that there was any racial motivation. A police investigator said Ogorchukwu was attacked after the trader's "insistent" requests to the suspect and his partner for spare change. The partner, identified as Elena D, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that Ogorchukwu had touched her arm, but that did not bother her.
The victim's wife now wants to see the suspect "face to face", to understand why he killed her husband, the family's lawyer told reporters.
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