Italian prisons grapple with staff shortages, overcrowding and worship restrictions

In the Campania region, the prison in Caserta has been unable to hold regular Catholic Masses because of a severe lack of penitentiary staff, prompting the regional prison rights advocate, Don Salvatore Saggiomo, to warn that the denial of worship violates constitutional and international guarantees. He called on the Ministry of Justice and prison authorities to provide dedicated spaces for religious practice and to invest in alternatives to incarceration.

In Abruzzo, a 25‑year‑old Egyptian detainee was found dead in his cell at the Castrogno prison near Teramo. An autopsy has been ordered as investigators consider various possible causes, including a reported gas odor. The incident has intensified criticism from the prison police union Osapp, which highlights that the facility, designed for 255 inmates, is housing more than 470, an 84% over‑capacity rate, compounded by chronic staff shortages. The union is demanding the transfer of a significant number of prisoners to alleviate safety risks and improve conditions.

Both incidents underscore systemic problems across Italy’s penitentiary system, where overcrowding and insufficient personnel threaten the health, safety and fundamental rights of detainees.