The Arezzo prison at the center of the CISL conference

The meeting-debate entitled took place in the Sala dei Grandi of the Province of Arezzo “Without shadows behind bars”, organized by Cisl Arezzo, to allow the many actors who gravitate around the Arezzo prison to propose new projects and improve the current conditions. At the center of the round table are the actions to be implemented in the near future by institutions, unions and professionals, so that the safety and efficiency of the Arezzo prison is guaranteed. The conference opened with the emotional and significant memory of the 32 victims, including prisoners and policemen, who died by suicide in the last months between 2023 and 2024. His Excellency took part in the debate, coordinated by Silvia Russo, General Secretary of the UST CISL Arezzo Andrea Migliavacca, Bishop of the Diocese ArezzoCortona-Sansepolcro, Alessandro Ghinelli, Mayor of the City of Arezzo, the Prefecture of Arezzo, Cinzia Santoni, Councilor. Delegated by the President of the Province of Arezzo. This was followed by speeches by Alfonso Galeota, Coord. Deputy Gen. FNS CISL Arezzo, Felice Maurizio D’Ettore, Guarantor of the rights of persons deprived of personal liberty, Rita Cavezzuti, President of the Arezzo Bar Association, Alessandro Monacelli, Director of the Prison, Marco Dioni, Deputy. Proc. Repubblica Arezzo, Giuseppe Fanfani, Ombudsman for Prisoners of Tuscany. The fundamental issue to be resolved to improve the situation for prisoners and staff is that of capacity. The renovation works require some changes to make it possible to reach the expected capacity of 100 posts.

The current situation, which sees available places almost halved, causes inconvenience and waste of human and economic resources. In fact, many inmates must be accompanied by the penitentiary police force to other Tuscan institutions and return to Arezzo for legal purposes. The renovations in question concern only the adaptation of some accesses and Cisl, starting from this event, intends to support their implementation by every means, stimulating the relevant bodies. Among the concrete proposals to be noted, a resolution is currently being approved and will be presented in the next Arezzo municipal council to redefine the role of the Prisoners’ Guarantor, so that this figure is a Guarantor of penitentiary staff and also of people deprived of individual freedom.

On the part of D’Ettore, national guarantor of the rights of people tried to freedom, has arrived a commitment to the solicitation in order to finish the ongoing renovation of the Arezzo prison and also a particular attention to penitentiary medicine. Fanfani, guarantor of the Tuscan prisoners, underlined how the dimensions of the Arezzo prison, if they are correctly respected with the works to be completed, can have the advantage of making it more suitable for the social recovery of the prisoners. Applause for the initiative also came from Bishop Migliavacca who underlined how the concept of restorative justice is also being reflected on at the diocesan level in recent days. Therefore on the one hand knowing and understanding the problems that exist, on the other being able to contribute to closeness and recovery strategies.

“An intense emotion – he commented Silvia Russo, general secretary of CISL Arezzo. “Without shadows behind bars” was a tough challenge, won with our Fns guys David Mencarelli, general secretary, and Alfonso Galeota, provincial coordinator of the penitentiary police. Great speakers of caliber enlivened the debate. We are happy to have fueled the interest in finding concrete solutions to the renovation of prison spaces. The director of the prison, Alessandro Monacelli, was able to interpret our requests for an increase in staff and the resolution of the restructuring problems. As the conclusion of the conference, we fully welcome the reflection of Giuseppe Fanfani, who clearly expressed how the existence of the prison in Arezzo and its redevelopment is the real objective to be achieved quickly to enhance a very advanced experience of criminal execution for the purposes of rehabilitation. The commitment we make – concluded Russo – is to bring in, also thanks to our interest, the professionalism to improve the quality of the service”.