A 68-year-old man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, originally from Ragusa, is among the primary victims of the severe abuse discovered in a nursing home in Cerreto Sannita, in the Benevento province. Four healthcare workers, two men and two women, are now on trial before the Benevento court, accused of physically and psychologically abusing frail and dependent residents. According to investigations concluded last October, the alleged abuse included slaps, kicks, insults, hair-pulling, as well as threats and actual psychological torture.
In the case of Salvatore Martorana, the Sicilian man affected by Alzheimer, the attacks were continuous. When he refused to eat, he was hit on the head with a stick, insulted with humiliating and absurd phrases such as “I treat you like a tuna in the Sicilian tuna traps.” His lawyer, Leonardo D'Erasmo, describes a dramatic change: from a cheerful person, a lover of theater and singing, Martorana has transformed into a withdrawn and frightened man, incapable of reacting even to a simple gesture of affection, fearing further violence.
The Benevento Prosecutor's Office is charging the defendants, who have already been subject to interdiction orders and restraining orders, with extremely serious crimes. The trial will begin in September, while the 68-year-old's family is considering joining the civil action. “The quality of a state of law – the lawyer underlined – It can be measured by how vulnerable people, the elderly, and children are treated. And what happened in this nursing home is unacceptable from every human and legal perspective."
It's truly sad that such mistreatment can occur in a nursing home. Elderly people should be treated with respect and dignity, not subjected to violence and humiliation by those who are supposed to care for them.