Yet another tragedy at Bassone, the Como prison. A 32-year-old man of Palestinian origin was found dead in his cell after having inhaled gas from a camping canister, the kind that prisoners presumably use for cooking. In a note Fabrizio Baggi, Regional Secretary of Lombardy, Pierluigi Tavecchio, Provincial Secretary of Como (Refoundation Party) express their concern about the situation in prisons with particular attention to Bassone.
“While yesterday, the guarantors for the rights of people in a state of deprivation of personal liberty were mobilizing with the aim of structuring a moment of reflection on suicides and deaths in prison, a mobilization which involved all the regional, provincial and municipal guarantors at As it turns out, yet another suicide was taking place in the Bassone prison. What is taking place is a real massacre; in fact, from Antigone’s dossier, it appears that a suicide occurs in prisons every three days, and that the numbers are growing. and that the situation is unacceptable to say the least.
Overcrowding, which in Lombard prisons – which are the most crowded in Italy and Bassone is one of these – reaches rates of 200% which is a double presence compared to the regulatory one, the almost total lack of reintegration activities which, where there are, they allow prisoners to spend a few hours outside the cells guaranteeing a recidivism rate that borders on 0%, the lack of qualified personnel and cultural mediators and last but not least, the prison intended for people which should only be treated and not punished are just some of the causes that trigger the ongoing massacre.
In this state of total degradation, a 32-year-old man of Palestinian origins committed suicide in the Bassone prison in Como by inhaling gas from a camping canister. He was found lifeless in his cell after he had attempted suicide several times in recent months but no one did anything, that was fine for the State.
In expressing our closeness and deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, we strongly denounce a condition of deprivation of rights that cannot be accepted.
Face this dramatic situation:
New and adequate structures should be built
Hire specialized personnel, psychologists and cultural mediators
Social reintegration activities should be included in all detention facilities
If they decriminalize minor crimes and those related to drug addiction whose protagonists need treatment and not detention.
There are no words, when you die under the protection of the State you die under the responsibility of the State.”
