Nicknamed “The Beast” for his ferocity, Riina is currently serving life in prison for a string of crimes, including the assassinations of antimafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino 25 years ago, and the 1982 murder of Carabinieri General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, who had recently been appointed prefect of Palermo.
Dalla Chiesa’s daughter and TV presenter, Rita Dalla Chiesa, was among those who criticised the Cassation Court for its statement on Monday.
"My father did not have a dignified death; they murdered him and left him, his wife and [escort] Domenico Russo in the car without even a sheet to cover them," she said on national television.
Victims of the Florentine Via dei Georgofili bombing, which killed five people near the Uffizi Gallery in 1993, said they were "dumbstruck" by the court's ruling.
President of the Antimafia Commission, Rosy Bindi, said there was no need to move Riina because he had access to all the treatment he required in a prison hospital.
With ANSA
