刑務所屋上を受刑者が占拠、新型コロナ予防措置に抗議　イタリア

【ミラノＡＦＰ＝時事】欧州における新型コロナウイルス感染の流行地となっているイタリア・ミラノの刑務所で9日、流行阻止のための新規定に抗議する受刑者らが、屋上を占拠し抗議した。（写真は伊ミラノの刑務所の屋根で、抗議する受刑者）
　ミラノにあるサン・ビットーレ刑務所で屋上を占拠した受刑者約１０人は、地上から警官や看守が見上げる中、抗議のスローガンを叫んだ。
　新型コロナウイルスによる死者が６人となっているイタリアでは、流行阻止のため家族との面会禁止などを盛り込んだ新規定をめぐり前日から、２０か所を超える刑務所で暴動や抗議行動が起きている。
　南部フォッジャの刑務所では受刑者約５０人が脱走。司法省によると４３人が再拘束された。
　また同じく南部のナポリとバリの間に位置するメルフィの刑務所では、暴動を起こした受刑者らが２か所の厳戒警備区域で９日夜まで、職員４人を人質に取っていた。
　首都ローマの北東約７０キロにあるリエティの刑務所では、「施設全体が受刑者らに占領されている」と司法省は発表している。受刑者らの一部は、新型コロナウイルス危機を理由に恩赦を求めているという。
　人権活動家らは新規定に対する大規模な抵抗について警告していた。また、受刑者の家族らも刑務所前で抗議活動を行っていた。
　受刑者のための人権団体アンティゴーネによると、北部モデナのサンターナ刑務所で発生した暴動では、前後に受刑者６人が死亡した。伊ＡＮＳＡ通信によると、３人はモデナで、他の３人はそれぞれ別の刑務所に移動された後に死亡した。６人はモデナ刑務所内の医療センターに押し入り、薬物を過剰摂取したと報じられている。モデナ当局はこれまでのところ、報道について認めていない。
　イタリアの刑務所は、全国で定員５万１０００人のところに６万１０００人超が収容され過密状態となっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/03/11-10:55）

Prisoners took to the roof of a Milan jail Monday, part of a string of violent protests in Italian jails against measures to keep the coronavirus out of the system, that left some inmates dead.
Jails have been ordered to stop all visits and limit day releases.
Rights campaigners warned of mass revolts over the new measures, and families gathered outside prisons to protest the restrictions -- and to get news of their loved ones.
Around a dozen prisoners at the San Vittore prison in Milan managed to climb onto the roof of one of the wings and shouted slogans as the police and prison guards below looked on.
It was the second day of unrest following revolts in at least 10 jails across the country Sunday, from Bergamo, Venice and Modena in the north, to Bari and Naples in the south.
Prison guard union SPP said at least 23 prisons had been involved in protests between Sunday and Monday, amid frustration over measures aimed at preventing the virus entering the prison system.
At least three inmates died during or following the clashes at the Modena Sant'Anna jail, according to prisoner rights group Antigone. The Repubblica daily reported six deaths, citing police sources.
Italian news agency ANSA said there were eight deaths, with two having died in other jails after being transferred from Modena.
It said there were reports the prisoners had broken into a medical centre in the Modena jail and had overdosed.
Authorities in Modena would not immediately confirm the reports.
- Prison visits suspended -
At San Vittore, the prisoners perched precariously on the roof tiles wore bandannas or scarves over their faces. Fellow inmates could be seen massed around the barred windows at the jail in the Italian capital.
Relatives rallied outside many of the concerned jails in protest over the measures, including a ban on family visits.
We're urging inmates and relatives to stop violent protests, as they could spark others, Antigone's Andrea Oleandri said.
The situation could rapidly deteriorate.
Prisoners, who get most of their information from televisions, tended to protest in solidarity if they saw convicts in other jails rioting, he added.
Family members desperate for news of their loved ones Monday had to be held off by prison guards at the entrance to the Modena jail, as ambulances and prison vans came and went, an AFP photographer said.
This rumpus, this 'war' happened because the inmates hadn't been given any information about what was going on outside, and visitor visits had been suspended, said Gilberto, the father of one prisoner who did not want to give his last name.
No-one's telling us who's died, who is injured, or why they died and why they were injured, the 59-year old told AFP.
Italy's prisons suffering from overcrowding, with over 61,000 inmates locked up in spaces designed to hold just 51,000.
- 'Fear of virus' -
The country has been hard hit by the virus -- with some 366 victims so far -- and the government has imposed draconian measures to stop it spreading further, including placing large swathes of the north under lockdown.
As well as halting visits and limiting day releases, all prison staff are supposed to have their temperatures checked on arrival each day. Medical checks for incoming inmates have also been ramped up, Antigone said.
The prisoners are worried the virus will get into jail and spread, Oleandri said.
They are in confined spaces. There are usually two or three people in a 12-metre square cell. And while visits have been suspended, there are still lots of people coming and going, he said.
Antigone has called for more inmates with only a short time left to serve to be allowed to do so at home, reducing the numbers behind bars.