Mutinies are increasing in Italian prisons in this context of anxiety and tensions linked to the coronavirus. They concern or concerned 27 penal establishments, according to the Repubblica. Six detainees are said to have died and dozens more have escaped.
The rebellion began on Sunday after announcements of measures to suspend family visits and temporary absences due to the coronavirus epidemic.
These insurgency movements started in the prisons of Bergamo and Modena, northern cities located in the containment zone established by the government. "The detainees were not informed of what was going on outside, and the visits had been suspended because of the coronavirus, which is why all this happened, this war," Gilberto told AFP. , 59, father of one of the detainees at Modena prison, who wished to remain anonymous.
La Repubblica reported six deaths, citing police sources. Three prisoners died inside Modena prison and three others died after their transfer outside the establishment. Investigations have been launched into the causes of death. Some are said to have gone to the infirmary and died of drug overdoses. Four prisoners are also said to be in serious condition.
Fragile inmates
However, the detainees are most concerned about being infected with the virus. At San Vittore prison in Milan, a dozen detainees managed to settle on the roof of one of the wings on Sunday, from where they shouted "We want freedom!" Under the gaze of a hundred police and guards.
"If the coronavirus comes here, we are all dead. Most of those in prison are HIV positive or have lung problems because the only vice they have is smoking. My husband smokes three packs of cigarettes a day, ”said Monica, 50, the wife of a Modena prisoner sentenced to eight years in prison.
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This Monday, it was in the south of Italy that the revolt took on even greater proportions. In Foggia in Puglia, around fifty prisoners have escaped. Thirty of them had returned to their cells in the afternoon thanks to the mediation of a police officer or their family, others were caught. But some have really made themselves beautiful.
Update: measures against #coronavirus create riots in several #prisons in #Italy (now 27!)
The assessment is for the moment of 6 deaths in the prison of Modena and 50 escapes in the prison of Foggia. Update with @AlbanMikoczy on @ InfoFrance2 pic.twitter.com/j4XNwyAfnk
Escape attempts also took place in two prison establishments in Palermo, Sicily.
Prisoners get most of their information from televisions and tend to protest in solidarity if they see convicts in other prisons rebelling, explains AFP explained Andrea Oleandri, from the Antigone association the defense group of rights of prisoners. Italian prisons suffer from overcrowding, with more than 61,000 prisoners for 51,000 places.
All staff members are expected to have their temperature checked on arrival each day, and medical checks for new detainees have been stepped up, said the Antigone association.
Foggia, Italy
