Iyou were afternoon 4 departments of the Poggioreale prison, were completely destroyed by the violent and aggressive anger unleashed by about 1000 inmates in revolt due to the suspension of meetings imposed by the Council of Ministers to combat the coronavirus epidemic. Damage amounting to a few million euros, an apocalyptic scene that fortunately did not culminate with the loss of any human life. The clashes resulted in four Penitentiary Police officers and one inmate injured. The fury of the inmates was triggered by the news of the death of an inmate and the fear of the spread of the coronavirus. Three days ago, an inmate felt unwell, was immediately transferred to Cardarelli, where he died a few hours later. The deceased inmate had been swabbed, which came back negative. But the news did not serve to reassure the rioters. On site, alongside the heads of the prison and the regional management of the penitentiary administration, also arrived the prosecutor Giovanni Melillo, the coordinator of the Prison Group, Nunzio Fragliasso, the police commissioner Alessandro Giuliano and the provincial commander of the Carabinieri Giuseppe La Gala. The Prisoners' Guarantor Samuele Ciambriello met with prisoners and prison managers: "They were made aware - Ciambriello explained - of the conditions of extreme hardship experienced by those forced to live together in cells of a few square meters even in 12 people. A situation today even more dramatic and unsustainable. I asked the president of the Surveillance Court to begin decongesting Secondigliano, where 170 prisoners on semi-liberty could be allowed to return to their homes in the evening, given the exceptional nature of the moment".
The vice regional secretary of Osapp Campania Luigi Castaldo also intervened on the revolt; “It is only thanks to the “Men of Poggioreale” women and men of the Penitentiary Police Corps conscientiously and ethically coordinated by the comm.coord. Dr. Diglio Giuseppe, that it was possible to quell the revolt after several failed attempts at civil mediation carried out by the director Dr. Berdini Carlo and the administrator of the Penitentiary Administration of Campania Dr. Fullone Antonio.
Unfortunately, all the inmates on the right wing of the institute believed they could overwhelm the State with the use of violence and incivility, unlike those on the left wing (over 1000 inmates) who peacefully disagreed with the suspension of the talks. Castaldo continues by denouncing a government policy: inattentive, ineffective and superficial in dealing with the many critical issues that the Penitentiary Police Corps is experiencing.
Osapp commends and praises the esprit de corps demonstrated yesterday by all the personnel who rushed to quell the riot even though they were off duty and by all those who were on duty and remained with a spirit of self-denial. Furthermore, Osapp applauds all the Penitentiary Police personnel for having once again demonstrated that the State is there and wins.
Article published on March 9, 2020 - 07pm
