Riot in Santa Maria prison: Sappe calls for urgent interventions

The surveillance magistrate would not have granted permission to a prisoner who asked to attend the funeral of a family member killed in an ambush in Bari. For this reason, the new riot would have broken out in the early afternoon today in the prison of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, in the province of Caserta. Due to the violent protest of a group of inmates, the Penitentiary Police personnel are once again protesting vehemently.

Donato Capece, general secretary of the Autonomous Penitentiary Police Union (SAPPE), reconstructed the incident: "The inmates on the third floor of the Volturno Ward, out of solidarity with the other inmate, left their cells, violently seized the keys, went out into the Ward corridor, and went down to the ground floor, where they literally smashed everything. The Surveillance Magistrate, Ward Commander, and the prison officers on duty also rushed to the scene, and, after a lengthy mediation effort, the mad protest subsided."

For the union, these are "events that have already been widely announced by SAPPE, demonstrating the tensions that have been felt in prisons for months: we are requesting a technical inspection by the PRAP (Prison Protection Authority) and an inspection by the ASL (Local Health Authority) to assess their suitability for workplace hygiene and safety."

For Capece, what's needed are "urgent, structural interventions that restore proper legality to the prison system, primarily addressing the open custody regime. We need police officers, technology, and training for those on the front lines in the prison sections, as well as tools to defend ourselves and combat violence." "We express," he concludes, "our utmost solidarity and sympathy to all our colleagues at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison, but these latest incidents must necessarily give pause to the leadership of the prison and the Region.

A complete reversal in the management of regional prisons is needed. We are at the mercy of these troublemakers, convinced they're in a hotel where they can do whatever they want, not a prison! We also appeal to regional and local political authorities: prisons aren't just for inmates, they're also for humble servants of the state who currently feel abandoned by the institutions. For this reason, the SAPPE leader hopes for swift action from this government regarding the ongoing attacks on staff, which are now a daily occurrence.