Italian politicians visit a prison instead of going on holiday

Tista' taqra bil-
Malta.

Italian politicians spent the day in prison instead of going on holiday, as is customary on August 15 to celebrate Ferragosto.

The aim of this initiative was to draw attention to the controversial conditions in Italian prisons, particularly the high number of suicides in these prisons.

In August, shops, businesses and companies like to close their doors for several days. This tradition dates back to Roman times, when Emperor Augustus gave this holiday to the people, including slaves, as a reward for their hard work in the fields.

Nowadays, only the shops in the tourist towns and villages are open, while many Italians prefer to spend their holidays on the beach.

However, Italian politicians defied this custom and instead chose to voluntarily spend their day in prison.

This tradition was founded by Marco Pannella, a politician, activist and journalist who died in May 2016.

This year, MP Matteo Renzi, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Pannella's colleagues from the Radical Party were among those who spent a day in a prison to raise awareness of prisoners' human rights.

Numerous foreign news outlets reported on the inhumane conditions in the prisons, which suffer from overcrowding and overheating.

There are similar problems in Malta. Professor Andrew Azzopardi appealed to Maltese politicians and prison directors to take action against the extremely poor conditions in the Corradino prison.

He therefore listed ten proposals to address this “inhuman situation” and warned the Maltese authorities that failure to implement these measures would constitute a “fundamental violation of human rights”.

Andrew Azzopardi calls for urgent action to tackle sweltering prison conditions

According to a report by REUTERS, 65 people have committed suicide in Italian prisons this year, with the most recent case occurring on August 7. This figure is already well on its way to significantly exceeding last year's figure (70).

This report also claimed that by the end of June this year there were 61,000 prisoners, 10,000 more than the prison capacity.

President Sergio Mattarella said prisons should not be places where all hope is lost. He mentioned that he had received a letter from prisoners in Brescia reporting on the poor conditions in which they live. Mattarella stressed that prison conditions “are perceived as terrible for reasonable and conscientious people”.

Pope Francis, who visits many Italian prisons, said that a prison is a place full of humanity.

Next year, during the Jubilee of Hope, the Pope will open five holy doors, one of them in a yet-to-be-announced prison.