Even prisoners subjected to the “hard prison” regime of article 41bis are entitled to a minimum of four hours of fresh air per day, and not just two, as provided for by the ordinary treatment introduced by the 2018 Penitentiary System Reform.
The Constitutional Court established this with sentence no. 30, accepting a request raised by the Surveillance Court of Sassari. The ruling was triggered by the complaint of GB, a 41bis inmate in the Sassari prison, assisted by the lawyer Valerio Vianello Accorretti, who complained about being granted only two hours of fresh air per day.
The Constitutional Court justified its decision by emphasizing that the extension of outdoor hours “contributes to making prison life more humane, not only in objective terms, but also in the perception of prisoners”.
A choice that is part of a broader debate, often fueled by the solicitations of European judges, on the need to balance the restrictions of "hard prison" with respect for the fundamental rights of people deprived of liberty.
The State Attorney's Office, representing the government, unsuccessfully defended the two-hour limit, arguing that it represented a "reasonable compromise" between prisoners' rights and security needs. According to Palazzo Chigi, reducing the hours of exercise would reduce the risk of illicit contact between inmates, although it admitted that the law does not offer absolute guarantees in this regard.
LThe Court, however, rejected this thesis: under 41bis, the hours of fresh air are spent in small groups – a maximum of four people, carefully selected by the prison administration – and this, together with adequate control measures, is enough to guarantee safety without further sacrificing the right to light and fresh air.
The two-hour limit, therefore, has been declared unconstitutional, although prison directors and surveillance magistrates remain free to reduce it "for justified reasons" or in the case of prisoners under "special surveillance".
A ruling that marks a step forward in the protection of rights even for those serving sentences in one of the most rigid regimes of the Italian penitentiary system.
Article published on March 19, 2025 - 09pm
Ambush in Fuorigrotta: Boss Pasquale D'Anna Killed
2 March 2025 - 09:12
The Constitutional Court's ruling is an important decision, but I wonder if the four hours of fresh air are really enough to improve the lives of prisoners. It is a complex issue and there are many factors to consider.