Italy denounced for hosing down naked Lampedusa migrants in cold, government orders inquiry

ROME – Italy’s government has promised an investigation into the treatment of migrants after a video was taken of naked refugees being hosed down in cold weather at a centre on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

The video, aired on state-run RAI television, showed a dozen migrants who lined up in a warehouse and then stripped to be hosed down with a solution to treat scabbies. The video was particularly troubling since the government had promised to improve migrant conditions on Lampedusa after more than 360 would-be refugees drowned in October trying to reach the Mediterranean island.

Politicians and refugee advocates have denounced the hosing incident. Laura Boldrini, president of the lower Chamber of Deputies, called the treatment “degrading and unworthy of a civilized country.”