Caserta – "Humanitarian emergency in the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison. The situation is collapsing: overcrowding, the infirmary closed for over a month, inmates without care, and officers at risk. Immediate action is needed."
The alarm was raised by Don Salvatore Saggiomo, Guarantor of prisoners in the province of Caserta, after an inspection carried out yesterday at the penitentiary.
The final straw was the assault of a prison officer by an inmate, apparently exasperated by the lack of medical care. This incident prompted the Guarantor to visit the prison for a field investigation.
"I met with the commander, the deputy commander, the deputy director, and some inmates. What I saw was alarming," says Father Saggiomo. The infirmary has been closed since July 16th, by order of the health authorities, and has not reopened since.
A month without medical care inside a facility that houses approximately one thousand inmates, compared to a regulatory capacity of just over seven hundred.
The critical issues are multiple: a chronic shortage of healthcare personnel, nurses' refusal to enter the wards, and a lack of therapeutic interventions for the patients. Added to this is overcrowding that exceeds all limits of tolerance: "Cramped cells, unbearable temperatures, poor ventilation, and hygienic conditions bordering on dignified."
The lethal mix of these shortcomings is fueling growing tensions, which threaten to explode at any moment. "Prisons cannot be places outside of constitutional legality," states the Guarantor. "Here, people's rights to health and dignity are being violated. This is an institutional failure."
Don Saggiomo has launched an urgent appeal to the authorities: the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Public Health (DAP), the Campania Region, the Local Health Authority (ASL), and the Prefecture. He is calling for the immediate reopening of the infirmary, the deployment of healthcare personnel, a plan to reduce overcrowding, and a permanent crisis management committee.
"It's not just a question of security or justice. Our humanity and our respect for fundamental rights are at stake here. No one can look the other way anymore."
PB
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