In recent weeks, two inmates in Italian prisons have been granted permission to have intimate conversations with their partners without the supervision of the prison police, with the express aim of having sexual intercourse.
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These are the first cases since last year, when a ruling by the Constitutional Court declared the ban on affection in prison illegitimate. The first case occurred in the Terni prison, while the second, first reported by Resto del Carlino, concerns the Parma prison.
Permissions granted after legal action
In both cases, permission was granted following complaints from inmates, who had originally requested to meet their partner (in Terni) and wife (in Parma) without supervision, initially receiving a refusal from the prison authorities.
Supported by their lawyers, both prisoners launched legal actions that dragged on for months, culminating in the order of the supervisory magistrates who ordered the prisons to provide suitable spaces for intimate conversations within a period of two months.
The topic of spaces for intimate conversations
This development is of great importance, not only because it marks the first cases after the Court's ruling, but also because in the orders, which can be consulted online, the magistrates specifically requested the identification of appropriate spaces within prisons. From the beginning, the issue of spaces for intimate conversations has been one of the most debated and problematic with respect to the Court's ruling, which had remained imprecise regarding the methods of implementation. The Court had suggested that prisons should behave autonomously, without however clearly delineating the responsibilities for the creation of such spaces.
Differences between the cases of Terni and Parma
The inmates involved, both classified under the high-security regime, had different experiences. In Terni, the inmate received a refusal for his request for intimate encounters, which was later overturned when the supervisory magistrate accepted the complaint. In Parma, the inmate submitted his request two months after the court ruling, and it was upheld in an order issued on February 7.
Lawyer Pina Di Credico pointed out that, although her client obtained a favorable decision, other prisoners also submitted similar requests, but received no response. Both lawyers of the prisoners emphasized the good conduct and legitimacy of their requests, while the motivation behind the requests differed: the prisoner from Terni cited the desire for parenthood, while the one from Parma emphasized the need to maintain an intimate bond with his wife.
The recent magisterial decisions, especially regarding the identification of spaces, could mark a significant step forward for affection in prison, including the prison of Padua, where requests for spaces for affection are still awaiting a response from the competent authorities.
Article published on 12 February 2025 - 21:45
