«Uncle, they killed you for the umpteenth time»

“Dear Uncle Franco they have you killed for the umpteenth time». The words of poignant Grazia Serranephew of Francesco Mastrogiovanni, in reading the sentence of the Court of Appeal of Salerno which in civil proceedings rejected the request of the family of the master of Castelnuovo Cilento died after compulsory medical treatment in the psychiatry department of the San Luca hospital in Vallo della Lucania. «Uncle Franco – writes Serra in an outburst letter – one thing is certain, if you had not entered theVallo hospital you would still be alive. We’ve all seen the inhuman treatment that has been reserved for you. Dear uncle, they tried to kill you several times and we fought with all the strength we had to give you back the dignity they took away from you. Did we succeed? It was worth it?”.

Mastrogiovanni, a 58-year-old elementary school teacher, died on August 4, 2009 after 82 hours of restraint, fast And loneliness, tied hand and foot for compulsory health treatment. Although a previous ruling by the Supreme Court had condemned six doctors and eleven nurses for kidnapping, the Court of Appeal rejected the request for compensation for damages, having not ascertained the causal link between the doctors’ conduct and the death of Mastrogiovanni. It is probably from this motivation that the niece’s outburst arises which, however, comes to a consideration «dear uncle, what is certain, your suffering they saved other people throughout Italy. Now we breathe, we understand, but we know the truth and yesterday they had you killed for the umpteenth time».

Precisely thanks to tenacity of family members, including his niece Grazia, who was in her early twenties at the time, Mastrogiovanni’s death aroused great media attention at a national level, questioning the Tso. The video of Mastrogiovanni tied to the bed shocked thepublic opinionraising doubts about the methods adopted for the Tso also in the psychiatry department ofVallo hospital. The videos did not reveal any display of aggression on the part of the teacher. On the contrary «the state of psychomotor agitation – the judges explained – was attributable to the continuation of the mechanical constraint became unbearable, due to the heat and intolerance for the unnatural position in which the ties forced the patient”.

«Grace – one of the many messages received in the last few hours – without yours tireless struggle this pain would be forgotten. For the tenacity, stubbornness and ability you had to witness and never back down, we must be grateful to you. The truth is irrefutable and can never be erased.”

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