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Italy

Capital city — Rome

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Panorama

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Carceral mental health facilities (ospedali psichiatrici giudiziari, OPG) were permanently closed in 2015. They were replaced by residences for the execution of security measures (residenze per l’esecuzione delle misure di sicurezza, REMS), under the authority of the Ministry of Justice. Those prisoners deemed to not be in control of their actions and to be dangerous are placed there.
Twenty-five prisons have dedicated areas for those with mental health problems (articolazioni per la tutella della salute mentale, ATSM).
A sizable portion of the incarcerated population suffers from psychological problems, and many of those affected are kept in unfurnished disciplinary cells (celle liscie) or in the general population.

  • As of 2018, there were 629 prisoners placed in REMS.

    i
    Antigone, Fifteenth Report on Prison Conditions

Each prison has a pharmacy. Health care personnel are responsible for distributing medication. Access to medications not stocked within the pharmacy is limited.

  • As of 2019, prisoners taking psychotropic medications (antidepressants, sleep aids, anti-anxiety medicine) represent 30% of the incarcerated population.

    i
    19/09/2019
    / Antigone

Individuals or organisations from the outside are allowed to participate in prison activities

yes

  • As of 2018, there were 16,838 external participants and volunteers.

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    Ministry of Justice, "Attività trattamentali – Volontariato"

Those imprisoned for crimes based on Islamic terrorism are classified as High Security 2 (AS2) and are closely regulated by the Nucleo investigativo centrale (NIC), the intelligence unit for the prison service. AS2 prisoners are most often subject to solitary confinement. The NIC also monitors prisoners suspected of radicalisation.1

  1. Antigone, Fifteenth Report on Prison Conditions, 2019 (in Italian). ↩

  • As of 18 October 2018, there were 66 persons imprisoned for crimes based on Islamic terrorism. Only 6% of them had been definitively convicted. As of the same date, there were 356 prisoners suspected of radicalisation and under surveillance by the NIC.

    i
    Antigone, Fifteenth Report on Prison Conditions

Dedicated places of worship are available

in all facilities

All facilities have a Catholic place of worship.

  • Antigone highlights the fact that 22% of facilities visited in 2018 did not have places of worship other than Catholic. A large number of prisoners exercise their religion in their cells, without the possibility of collective practice.

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    Antigone, Fifteenth Report on Prison Conditions

The most represented religions in prison are Catholicism, Islam, and Orthodox Christianity.

  • The latest official statistics on the faiths of prisoners are from 2016. As of 31 December 2016, Catholic prisoners represent 54.7% of the incarcerated population. Muslims and Orthodox Christians represent 11.4% and 4.2% respectively. A large number of prisoners refused to respond to the questionnaire.

    i
    Antigone, Fifteenth Report on Prison Conditions

Prisoners are allowed to pass diplomas and entry examinations

yes

  • The number of prisoners that obtained a university degree in 2018 was 28. The most popular higher education courses are in social sciences and politics, literature, and law.

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    Ministry of Justice, "Attività trattamentali – Università"

Individual acts of protest are recorded

yes

  • In 2018, the prison administration recorded 11,178 individual acts of protest.

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    2018
    / Ristretti

Collective movements are recorded

yes

  • In 2018, the prison administration recorded 1,082 collective acts of protest.

    i
    2019
    / Ristretti

Number of escapes

680

The prison administration recorded 131 escapes in 2018, including four from closed establishments. [^ Note]

[^ note]: Aebi, MF, & Tiago, MM, “SPACE I - 2019 - Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics: Prison populations” (Annual penal statistics of the Council of Europe - Report 2019), p. 112 (in English).

  • About 20 prisoners escape, March 9, 2020, from Foggia prison in the region of Apulia.

    i
    03/2020
    / la Republicca

The prison service provides food that respects special dietary needs

yes

Specific diets are offered to people suffering from medical ailments, such as diabetes. Several establishments offer halal meals. Muslims are allowed to have their meal after sunset during Ramadan.

  • The Antigone association reports that out of a hundred prisons visited in 2018, 75 offer a halal diet.

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    Antigone, Fifteen report on conditions of detention

The law establishes a minimum standard for living space per prisoner

yes

Non-binding regulations from the Ministry of Health on housing have existed since 1975. It stipulates that an individual cell must measure 9m² and a 2-person cell at least 14m².
The prison administration establishes a minimum of 3m² per prisoner in a shared cell, following multiple convictions from the ECHR.

  • The CPT reported in 2016 that 16% of the prison population share cells with a surface area of less than 4m² per person. The CPT recommends a minimum of 6m² for single cells, and 4m² per person in collective cells, and shall exclude the partitioned toilet block.

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    CPT, Report to the Italian government on the visit from 8 to 26 April 2016, 2017.

Prisoners have access to water

in their cell/dormitory

  • Antigone notes that 43% of the prisons visited do not have reliable in-cell access to hot water.

    i
    Antigone, Fourteenth report on conditions of detention

Prison facilities are adapted to the needs of prisoners with disabilities

some facilities

Two facilities, the casa circondariale in Bari and the casa di reclusione in Parma, are specifically designed for handicapped prisoners; they have the necessary equipment and staff.

  • The Antigone Association outlined “An absolute inability of Italian prisons to accommodate disabled people”. It found that only 30% of prisons visited in 2017 have handicap accessible spaces. The number of accessible cells is insufficient and disabled people must rely on the kindness of fellow prisoners or staff.

    i
    2018
    / Antigone

The prison service keeps a record of prisoners with disabilities

yes

  • As of 2015, the number of prisoners with physical or motor impairments was 628. Less than half of them are placed in accessible cells.

Prisoners sentenced to life are eligible for parole after having served over 26 years and if they are deemed not to pose a threat to themselves or others (article 176 of criminal code.

Those who are deemed dangerous and mafia members who refuse to collaborate with the justice department, classified as 41-bis, are not eligible for parole. This designation is called the “ergastolo ostativo.”

Specific sentences or rulings are reserved for minors, such as probation or an alternative sentence served in a home or a community centre. (comunità).

  • As of 15 February 2020, there were 13,384 sentences and trials of minors and young adults.

Women are housed in gender-specific sections of facilities that house both men and women or in the country’s four correctional facilities for women:

  • two jails: Pozzuoli (Naples) and Rebibbia Femminile (Rome)
  • two prisons: Venezia Giudecca and Trani.

  • The four women’s correctional facilities housed a total of 669 inmates in 2019 — including 260 foreign women.

All allegations and suspicions of ill-treatment inflicted on prisoners are logged

yes

  • During their visit in 2019, the CPT consulted the medical records of prisoners complaining of ill-treatment by staff. They found numerous complaints.
    They advised the prison service to record all incidents more carefully, whether confirmed or alleged, and to extend their video surveillance network.[^note]

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    CPT, Report to the Italian Government on the visit carried out from 12 to 22 March 2019, p.16-17

Allegations of violence or ill-treatment are reported throughout the year.

  • In 2019, the CPT reported violence and ill-treatment towards prisoners in the facilities they had visited. The acts were usually committed out of sight of video surveillance, for example in the staircases.

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    CPT, Report to the Italian Government on the visit carried out from 12 to 22 March 2019, p.11-15.

There are several different prison regimes:

  • The semi-open regime: under which the majority of prisoners have been placed since 2013. The cell doors stay open for between eight and fourteen hours per day, depending on the facility. The administration implements dynamic security, allowing greater autonomy for the prisoners.
  • The alta sicurezza (AS) regime: a closed, high security regime, based on Articles 4-bis and 14-bis. It is broken down into three categories, depending on the type of criminal offence: AS1 (organised crime), AS2 (terrorism) and AS3 (drug trafficking). They are kept away from the rest of the prison population.
  • The 41-bis regime: a special prison regime for prisoners charged with acts of terrorism, organised or mafia crime. This stricter high security system was specially designed to break all ties between the prisoners and fellow inmates who may be involved in the same criminal cases. Prisoners under the 41-bis regime are placed under constant surveillance in units reserved for solitary confinement. Time outside of the cell is limited to one hour. The possession of personal belongings is subject to prior authorisation from the administration. All communications with the outside are tightly monitored.1

As of 3 January 2019, there was a total of 748 prisoners under the 41-bis regime.2

  1. Antigone, Fifteenth report on detention conditions, 2019 (in Italian). ↩

  2. Ibid. ↩

  • As of 3 January 2019, there was a total of 748 prisoners under the 41-bis regime.

    i
    2019
    / Antigone, Fifteenth report on detention conditions, 2019 (in Italian).

ASLs suggest methadone-based substitution treatments for drug-addicted prisoners.

  • As of 2014, there were 1,647 prisoners receiving opioid substitution treatments.

    i
    2019
    / OMS, Health in Prisons, 2019.