[Vann123]

“I don’t know what I could have put in my underwear or bra, a commented code? a completed essay?”. The controversy surrounding the competition for magistrates held in Rome on June 25, 26 and 27 continues. There have been many, many reports from candidates, who have reported any irregularities during the tests.

Many candidates have also met online, via social networks and Facebook groups, trying to discuss and clarify what happened. Here is the testimony of a candidate who was subjected to checks by the agents.

“After the two checks at the entrance, I was approached by a prison police officer who asked me to follow her and took me to the bathrooms. Once inside, I was not searched while dressed, I was directly asked to put my things on a bench and move to the other side of the two female officers. I was told to lift my shirt and also my bra. Then to open my pants. After doing this too, I looked at them thinking that I had done even more than was right to ask, but no. “Put your pants down”. And then “put your underwear down too”. I started to protest, I told them “are you kidding? Do you realize?”. The answer was simple: they had found things there too, and for them it was certainly not a pleasure to carry out checks like that.

“If I wanted, I could have moved in front of the bathroom doors where there was more privacy. I made a mistake and I bitterly regret not having created a mess by refusing and demanding a report or a phone call to the police. I left that bathroom full of tears from the humiliation and I cried for hours, as I still do now if I just think about it. They didn’t touch my pockets or make me take off my shoes, I could have had hidden notes but was I an honest contestant, or maybe an idiot, from what you’ve heard?”.

“I don’t know what I could have put in my underwear or bra, an annotated code? a completed essay? The rationale for the check was not respected – the candidate continues – , so I have to ask myself whether it was not intimidating or just damaging to a person’s dignity. If I go to a competition and risk having to lower my underwear without any reason for suspicion but only for a “random check” I think I should know beforehand. To be a good magistrate do I have to suffer such treatment? Do I have to be able to write an essay after a trip to a bathroom to undress worse than a criminal? I don’t know if it happened to others but for me it was shocking. I think that many things in this competition were “on the edge” of legality and humanity”.