UN Committee Against Torture cracks down on Italy

The CAT expresses “serious concern” regarding the conditions in Italian prisons, ranging from overcrowding to mental health issues, from staff shortages to the high number of deaths and suicides.

Police, prisons, migrant detention centers, security decrees – the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) sent a lengthy list of critical issues and recommendations to the Italian government on May 1 following the conclusion of Italy’s seventh periodic review (the last one took place in 2017) and after hearing the responses to its initial observations provided by the large delegation sent by the Prime Minister’s office to Geneva in mid-April.

It is obvious that the further clarifications provided by ministry officials were not enough, because most of the serious concerns already raised are reiterated in the 47 paragraphs of the final document. In particular, the Committee writes that it is “concerned over recent attempts in Parliament to abolish the crime of torture and to replace it as an aggravating circumstance to be added to other crimes.” This is an important point, as it condemns the attacks by the right-wing government on the criminal offense of torture as introduced in 2017, although it was not introduced in terms perfectly........

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