Riots have broken out in Italian prisons one after the other, triggering a worrying chain reaction.
Last week in Turin, and this weekend in Bari and Rome, convicts turned prisons upside down. In Bari, a nurse was taken prisoner by prisoners trying to escape. The guard who rushed to rescue her was seriously injured when she was attacked by prisoners.
The incident sparked calls for the government to urgently find a solution to alleviate overcrowding and create more livable conditions with critics warning the situation will only escalate.
At the Regina Coeli prison in Rome, guards spent two days trying to control the riots. According to reports, 200 prisoners joined the uprising in the Rome detention center. Cells were ripped open, windows smashed, mattresses and clothing burnt, and water flooded the corridor.
Police unions expressed their concern over the systematic organization of the riots and called for the introduction of severe punishments to crack down on the instigators.
According to statistics, there have been almost 2,000 cases of serious aggression against members of the police force since the beginning of the year. The dramatic situation is illustrated by the fact that seven prison officers have committed suicide this year.
There have also been three murders in cells among prisoners, the most in years.
