Perugia prison, inmate first attempts suicide and then attacks officers

PERUGIA. «First he attempted to escape in vain, blocked by the Penitentiary Police escort. The protagonist is a foreign prisoner.” This was reported by Fabrizio Bonino, national secretary for Umbria of the Autonomous Penitentiary Police Union. «The man, of Tunisian nationality, already responsible in the morning for acts of violence towards the Penitentiary Police personnel of the Capanne institute, – continues Bonino – yesterday staged a suicide by hanging to get out of the cell, but when the policemen were intervened, a scuffle broke out, following which four policemen ended up in hospital with a five-day prognosis.”

«In the afternoon, while he was being taken to the hospital for medical checks, he attempted to escape. Specifically, the North African, pretending to faint, attacked the escort agents on translation duty at the Perugia hospital and fled. Only following the intervention of the officers, who suffered several injuries from the blows and bites of the prisoner who also spat in the faces of the Penitentiary Police operators, were they able to stop him and take him back to the institution. A shocking situation, of absurd violence – reports Bonino – which had already had a prologue on Saturday when an officer on duty at the Perugia prison, together with the Superintendent on duty, were attacked by a prisoner of Tunisian nationality because he had seen himself taken away a bucket of alcohol obtained from a macerated fruit mixture not permitted. He threw a wooden stool at one of them and subsequently, when the officers attempted to block him, he bent the hand of one of them who was given a ten-day prognosis.” Hence the request for a ministerial inspection, which highlights the particular shortage of police personnel and the operational complexity of Capanne: «for this reason, the first Union of the Corps, the Sappe, returns to ask for a ministerial inspection to understand if all are considered the elements for the safety of the men and women of the Penitentiary Police”, concludes Bonino.

The general secretary of Sappe Donato Capece, expressing closeness and solidarity with the injured officers, underlines that «the overall picture of yet another critical event highlights, more than a thousand words, the high tension of Umbrian prisons. In the year 2023, in Umbria, there were 257 fights and 25 injuries, 283 acts of self-harm, three suicides and 37 attempts foiled in time. This is to say that in the prisons of the nation and of Umbria in particular (a region which no longer has an autonomous regional administration, in Perugia, due to an unfortunate political choice of previous governments, and has now been co-opted by Tuscany…) it is needed, strong and the presence of the State is evident, which cannot tolerate this widespread impunity, and urgent and effective measures are needed.” Capece appeals to the leaders of the Dap to create the conditions «to re-establish order and security, truly implementing that zero tolerance towards those violent prisoners who, even in prison, are convinced that they can continue to commit crimes with absolute impunity!. Strict rules are needed to restore order and security in prisons, truly implementing that zero tolerance towards violent inmates who, even in prison, are convinced that they can continue to commit crimes with absolute impunity. Here we need the strong and evident presence of the State, which cannot tolerate this widespread impunity, and urgent and effective measures are needed”, concludes Capece.