• Santa Maria Capua Vetere, violence in prison: 52 precautionary measures

  • Prisons.

    Unions: "We ask the Dap table on the riots in Santa Maria Capua Vetere"

  • Prisons, revolt returned to the penitentiary of Santa Maria Capua Vetere

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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea

29 June 2021 Images of inmates beaten by agents in the prison of Santa Maria Capua Vetere appear. The newspaper 'Domani' has exclusively obtained the video of the cameras of the 'Francesco Uccella' prison confirming the punitive expedition of April 6, 2020. The images show inmates with their hands behind their necks, made to kneel and with their faces towards the wall.



The video of Domani

Oggi, the images of that unprecedented violence, recorded by the prison surveillance cameras. 


The newspaper Domani exclusively published them on its website. A scoop signed by colleague Nello Trocchia, who was interviewed by Veronica Fernades on Rainews24.




The investigation

There are 2349 pages of precautionary measures notified to 52 between prison police officers and officials accused in various ways of torture, aggravated injuries, aggravated mistreatment, forgery, slander, aiding and abetting, procedural fraud and misdirection. In the investigation of the Public Prosecutor of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, a total of more than 110 people are investigated.



The violent beatings and torture, to the detriment of inmates in the prison of Santa Maria Capua Vetere 'Francesco Uccella', would have occurred following the protests of 2020 by over 150 prisoners after the news of a positive case at Covid-19 within the walls of the prison. Furthermore, among the inmates, there was a lot of discontent over the interruption of talks with family members due to the anti-Coronavirus restrictions. At least 150 inmates barricaded themselves in their cells and started protest actions. After the promise that anti-contagion tests would be carried out, the revolt returned. In the following hours and days, however, according to the hypothesis of the Prosecutor's Office, which entrusted the investigations to the Carabinieri of the Company of Santa Maria Capua Vetere,the prison officers carried out punitive searches and retaliation against the detainees. On 6 April 2020 283 prison police officers went into action, passing as "searches", as reconstructed by the prosecutor's office, the planned beating of 292 detainees in the 'Nile Department'. 



The complaint to the investigators of the serious events that occurred in the prison and of the violent beatings was presented by the

Guarantor of the Prisoners of

Campania

, Samuele Ciambriello, and by the

Antigone

association

, on the basis of the reports received by prisoners and family members to the Guarantor and the Antigone Association where denounced what appeared to be a real retaliation against inmates who had participated in the protests. Audio files and photographs were attached to the complaint.



In the eleven months of investigations by the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor's Office, wiretaps were heard, the images of internal video surveillance analyzed, at least 70 testimonies of inmates who were beaten were collected, including that of an inmate who was in a wheelchair, who was was shot in the back as shown in the video images of the cameras of the Casertano prison.



Sappe's complaint to the Guarantor and the Order

In the meantime, a complaint to the Privacy Guarantor and the Order of Journalists will be presented by Sappe, the Autonomous Penitentiary Police Syndicate, to denounce what the union defines "the unacceptable media pillory for under investigation in Santa Maria Capua Vetere ".



"I do not understand and do not understand why the much-invoked needs of guarantee, protection and confidentiality that are often referred to for those who, in criminal proceedings, assume the role of suspects, should not also apply to prison and police personnel involved in the alleged violence in the Institute of Santa Maria Capua Vetere - underlines the secretary of Sappe, Donato Capece - yesterday and today we witnessed the publication, on the front page, of some newspapers of the photographs of dozens and dozens of them, complete with the dissemination of sensitive data as name surname date of birth and place of employment, as perhaps never happened in telling a news story. A serious fact, which risks putting in serious danger the people involved who are, it is useful to remember, under investigation ".