Country

Italy

Detention issue

Protection against violence

FRA research findings

View details

Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Law No. 354/1975 (Legge 26 luglio 1975, n. 354, Norme sull’ordinamento penitenziario e sulla esecuzione delle misure privative e limitative della libertà)The prisoners are granted a generic right to file a complaint, to allow them to challenge any decisions concerning their detention: such complaint can be addressed to the prison director, judicial authorities and other responsible authorities.
Decree of the President of the Italian Republic No. 230/2000 (Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 30 giugno 2000, n. 230, Regolamento recante norme sull’ordinamento penitenziario e sulle misure privative e limitative della libertà)The prison director is in charge of ensuring security and order within the detention facility, by availing themselves of the support from the staff employed in each facility.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2017The NPM recommends that Italian authorities should introduce a strict monitoring system to identify acts of violence perpetrated by police officers against prisoners, as well as a specific criminal offence to contrast such violence. The NPM reported that in some of the detention facilities monitored during 2017, LGB prisoners are detained in generic protected sections and all the documents concerning their status and detention activities (such as the formal requests addressed to the jail’s direction) report the indication 'Protected-homosexual': considering that such documents can be accessed by several members of the prison’s staff this might represent a disclosure of sensitive personal data and a violation of the prisoners’ right to protection of personal information. Report details
2018The NPM recommends to abolish such practice, described in the report of 2017, in all Italian detention facilities. As to female detainees, they were all held in male detention facilities. For this reason, the NPM recommends again that these people are detained in female sections in order to respect their gender identity and that a public and political debate is fostered to promote their detention conditions. In any case, the Authority recommends for this group of detainees as well that protection measures do not entail the exclusion of prisoners from common activities and socialisation. Report details
2019The Italian NPM recommended Italian authorities the necessity to “guarantee in every institution a regular recording of “critical events” and the simultaneous entry of such data in the information system of the Ministry of Justice Report details
2020LGBTI detainees must be considered a vulnerable category, more at risk of suffering violence during the detention period. In its opinion, the most urgent measure to implement is the development of training sessions concerning diversity and non-discrimination destined both to detainees and to the prison’s staff. Moreover, the NPM recalled the necessity of elaborating strategies to ensure the detainees’ right to affectivity and sexuality, including also non-heterosexual couples. Report details