- Melania Geymonat, 28, was out with girlfriend in North West London on May 30
- She claims gang of young men attacked them during early hours on the bus
- Said group had asked them to kiss ‘so they could watch’ but she had refused
- Miss Geymonat has now released an image of her injuries to raise awareness
- * Did you witness the N31 attack on May 30? Please email: tips@dailymail.com
A Ryanair flight attendant and her girlfriend were covered in blood after a gang of men allegedly attacked them on a London bus because they refused to kiss.
Melania Geymonat, 28, was riding the bus with her American girlfriend Chris after an evening out in West Hampstead, North West London, in the early hours of May 30.
But during the journey, she claimed a gang of young men behind them saw they were a couple and started to demand they kiss while making crude sexual gestures.
She said: ‘The next thing I know is I’m being punched. I got dizzy at the sight of my blood and fell back. I don’t remember whether or not I lost consciousness.’
(Melania Geymonat (right), 28, has released this image of her with her girlfriend Chris (left) covered in blood, after she claims she was attacked by a group of young men on a London bus)
Miss Geymonat added: ‘They wanted us to kiss so they could watch us. I tried to defuse the situation as I’m not a confrontational person, telling them to please leave us alone as Chris wasn’t feeling well.’
The men, who were in their 20s or 30s, began throwing things on the bus – which was travelling towards Camden – and the couple told them to stop.
Both women were taken to hospital for treatment to facial injuries. Miss Geymonat said one of the men spoke Spanish and the others had British accents.
‘The next thing I remember was Chris in the middle of them and they were beating her,’ added Ms Geymonat, who is originally from Uruguay but now lives in the Essex village of Takeley.
‘I didn’t think about it and went in. I was pulling her back and trying to defend her so they started beating me up.
‘I don’t even know if I was knocked unconscious. I felt blood, I was bleeding all over my clothes and all over the floor. We went downstairs and the police were there.’
Miss Geymonat claims the pair had decided to sit at the front on the top deck because they both enjoy the novelty of a double decker bus.
But the journey turned out to be far worse than expected. She is now waiting to find out if her nose was broken in the vile attack.
She said there were at least four of them and one spoke Spanish while the others had a British accent. The attackers also allegedly robbed the couple before fleeing.
(Miss Geymonat is a Ryanair flight attendant)
(Miss Geymonat is now waiting to find out if her nose was broken in the attack. She is pictured left before the incident, and right afterwards. She appears to have sustained a bruised eye)
Miss Geymonat, who moved to the UK in February and is on a year’s sabbatical from her medical studies, said she had felt safe as a gay woman in London.
But after being stunned by the attack, she released the picture to raise awareness of violence against women and gay people.
Miss Geymonat added: ‘It’s not something isolated, it’s common. We were seen as entertainment, that’s what makes me so angry.’
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme today, she said: ‘We tried to make them go away, but they didn’t. They started throwing us coins. The next thing I know is that Chris is in the middle of the bus and they are punching her.
‘I immediately went there just by impulse, I didn’t think about it, and I tried to pull her out of there. So they started punching me, I don’t remember if I was trying to get her out, or I punched somebody – I really don’t.
‘So they started beating me until I was bleeding. I was really bleeding. We went downstairs and the police were already there. They took our statements and they called the ambulance and everything.’
She added: ‘It’s a surprise to me. I know that there is a lot of verbal violence all the time, and that’s the thing that made me tell the story. Even when these guys came, it was not the first situation when men see two women kissing and they start asking us if we were a show.
‘I have gay friends who have been in the streets and they have been punched all over. Now, other people have told me a lot of violence is going on, that we were even lucky that we were on a bus, because if we were in the streets, nobody knows what could have happened.’
She said the police had been ‘extremely good’ in dealing with the incident.
Miss Geymonat shared about her experiences on Wednesday in a Facebook post which has now attracted more than 3,700 comments and 9,700 shares.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: ‘This was a disgusting, misogynistic attack. Hate crimes against the LGBT+ community will not be tolerated in London.’
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the attack was ‘absolutely shocking’. He added: ‘We must not, and will not, accept this homophobic and misogynist violence in our society.
‘Solidarity to Melania and Chris, and to all in the LGBT+ community for everything they endure for simply being who they are.’
Constituency MP Tulip Siddiq added: ‘Horrified to see this homophobic attack against two women simply trying to enjoy a night out in West Hampstead.
‘There can be no excuses, no space, for such obscene behaviour. My full solidarity is with these women and the UK’s LGBT community.’
And Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘This is appalling. Everyone has the right to love and I was proud to support equal marriage.’
Miss Geymonat graduated last year as a doctor at the Universidad de la República in Montevideo and had worked at the Hospital de Clínicas Montevideo before moving to the UK.
In an online profile, she said she had been ‘motivated by telling stories’ since she was a girl, and had also studied acting.
(The attack happened on a N31 bus (left) travelling towards Camden Town (right) last week)
She originally comes from Palmitas, a small town of less than 3,000 people in Uruguay, but later moved to Montevideo. She has also lived in Barcelona, Santiago in Chile and on a boat in Greece. Miss Geymonat also spent time travelling Italy, where her family originally come from.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Police are appealing for witnesses and information after two women were assaulted and robbed in a homophobic attack on a bus in Camden.
‘The incident happened at approximately 2.30am on May 30 after the two women, both aged in their 20s, boarded a N31 bus in West Hampstead.
‘As they sat on the top deck they were approached by a group of four males who began to make lewd and homophobic comments to them.
‘The women were then attacked and punched several times before the males ran off the bus. A phone and bag were stolen during the assault. Both women were taken to hospital for treatment to facial injuries.’
Siwan Hayward, director of compliance, policing and on-street services at Transport for London, said: ‘This sickening attack is utterly unacceptable. Homophobic behaviour and abuse is a hate crime and won’t be tolerated on our network.
‘All of our customers have the right to travel without fear of verbal or physical assault and we are working with the police to stamp out this behaviour on our transport network. We will do all we can to support the police investigation of this incident.’
* Did you witness the N31 attack on May 30? Please email: tips@dailymail.com *
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information that could assist the investigation is also asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD737/30May. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
Source: dailymail