Santa Maria Capua Vetere. Violence in prison, Sappe admits: "The situation got out of hand". Salvini backtracks: "The State should apologize to the prisoners".
"We were the first to be shocked by the images of violence. If it had been premeditated, the cameras would have been turned off. It was an action that got out of hand. It wasn't a demonstration of power, but of the frustration of staff who had suffered humiliation and violence for years ." This is how Emilio Fattorello , national secretary of SAPPE and head of Campania, commented on the violence against inmates by officers in prison, upon leaving Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
Fattorello then added: "I'm the first to condemn those who made mistakes and distance myself, but I'm against media pillorying. There are 40 people in this force. We won't delve into the merits of the investigation, but we don't believe there are grounds for precautionary measures. It's not right that colleagues be treated the same way as organized crime. There are all the elements to establish subjective responsibility for what happened."
Supporting the prison officers' union were statements from Matteo Salvini , leader of the League, who, on the sidelines of a visit to the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison, released the following statement: "I thank all law enforcement officers throughout Italy, regardless of their uniform, for the work they do. If even 1% of prisoners make mistakes, they must be punished; if a prisoner is subjected to violence, it's unacceptable, because prison should be a safe place. Apologies to families are right and proper. May this disaster serve to create new hires, new uniforms, new security cameras, and new tools for defense and dialogue." Salvini spoke at length about prison violence with the director this afternoon.
Meanwhile, preliminary hearings continued today before investigating judge Sergio Enea of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Court, who issued the warrant for the April 6, 2020, prison massacre. Prison officers deny the charges.
In particular, Angelo Bruno , the 55-year-old officer who was jailed for allegedly co-organizing and perpetrating the prison violence, and who was mentioned several times in the arrest warrants by the inmates who were victims of the beatings, denied all charges during the preliminary hearing held in Carinola prison. He also explained that he is no longer a member of the Penitentiary Corps, having been discharged last March due to a limb disease.
His lawyer, Rossana Ferraro , explains that "Bruno initiated the process for his release in 2019, well before the alleged crimes in the warrant." Also present at the hearing was the deputy prosecutor of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Alessandro Milita , who explained that the investigating office was unaware of the circumstance, which should have been communicated by the prison administration. This is, moreover, a supervening situation that could impact the precautionary measures that prompted the investigating judge to order Bruno's detention, namely the risk of recidivism, such as violence in prison, which in Bruno's case should no longer exist.
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Meanwhile, the investigation has uncovered other chats acquired by the Sammarinese Prosecutor's Office as part of the investigation into the beatings at the prison on April 6, 2020. These include conversations between prison officials and the Campania prison superintendent, Antonio Fullone , who was subject to a suspension order. On the evening of April 6, 2020, the superintendent was also informed of the prison violence by the acting prison director regarding requests for information from outside, from the mayor of Santa Maria Capua Vetere to journalists.
"Good evening, Antonio, the mayor of Smcv (Santa Maria Capua Vetere, ed.) contacted me," the manager, believed by investigators to be one of the instigators, wrote to the superintendent in a chat . "I have maintained full cooperation, accompanied by institutional courtesy, but to avoid leaks and tricky questions, I told him that for now, only you can provide any details."
And again: "Ansa contacted me again this morning. I specified that I needed authorization for interviews, and I gave them the number of the PRAP (Prison Administration Authority) to filter the contact with you through the private secretary. However, I took the opportunity—I have a forked tongue these days—to urge them to filter every piece of news, as even the simplest information can cause alarmism at this delicate stage... those who have ears, let them hear..." It's unclear whether the reference to alarmism refers to the presence of a positive case of Covid-19 in the prison (the basis of the prisoners' protests) or to the extraordinary search that evening, which led to the violence in prison.
