Violence in the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison: the trial for 106 defendants resumes on Monday.

The trial into the violence against inmates at the Caserta prison that occurred on April 6, 2020, will resume on Monday, September 7, at 9:30 a.m., before the Assize Court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere. 106 people are charged in the proceedings for events that, according to the prosecution's approach, were characterized by a veritable "punitive expedition."

The new hearing will mark the beginning of the phase dedicated to the arguments of the civil parties. Representing the regional guarantor for the rights of persons deprived of their personal liberty, Samuele Ciambriello, who has joined the civil action against all the defendants, will be attorney Francesco Giuseppe Piccirillo.

The proceedings reached a decisive stage after the closing arguments of public prosecutors Alessandro Milita, Daniela Pannone, and Alessandra Pinto, who pursued the prosecution until their conviction requests were made last July, with sentences of up to 21 years in prison.

According to the office of the Campania Prison Ombudsman, the violence was accompanied by attempts to divert information and cover-ups, which did not prevent investigators from bringing charges against the defendants.

"The closing statement underscores the gravity of the facts we immediately reported," says Ciambriello, looking ahead to the final phase of the proceedings, emphasizing the work done by the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Prosecutor's Office.

"I can only look with deep satisfaction at the final stage of this trial, for the way it has been conducted by its main protagonists and, in particular, by the magistrates of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prosecutor's office, who have devoted themselves diligently to the search for the truth."

Ciambriello also recalls that the first reports came in when the footage from the prison's internal cameras wasn't yet available: "The closing argument underscored the gravity of the facts that the regional ombudsman and the supervisory magistrate had immediately reported, even when the footage from the prison's internal cameras wasn't yet available."