There have been 52 suicide among
prison inmates in Italy since January this year, prion officer
union UILPA said Tuesday.
UILPA General Secretary Gennarino De Fazio said the "extremely
high number" of suicides reflected the effects of so-called
looser "dynamic surveillance" which allegedly lent itself to all
kinds of abuse and generated "trafficking of all kinds".
He said that violence among inmates had increased exponentially
under the new regime, leading to soaring rates of anxiety and
depression.
Pending the installation of a new Italian government after the
September 25 general election, De Fazio called for action to
"re-establish the presence of and the rules of the State" in
many high-risk Italian prisons.
He cited, among others: "Firenze Sollicciano, Monza, Catanzaro,
Augusta, Sanremo, Salerno, Cagliari, Taranto, Bologna, Rome
Regina Coeli and Padova Due Palazzi".
De Fazio said "the new detention model has generated all kinds
of vexations".
The Italian prison chaplains group said over-crowding was
another major factor behind the high rate of suicides.
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