A 37-year-old inmate in a Venice prison is the latest to have taken his own life.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government recently approved a decree with measures aimed at easing prison overcrowding amid concern about the high number of suicides among inmates and warders.
The SPP said five prison officers had also taken their own lives in the first half of 2024.
As well as overcrowding and low prospects of release, poor conditions are often cited as a factor in suicides.
The situation, coupled with the intense heatwave Italy is currently enduring, have been blamed for disturbances at some jails.
Andrea Martella, a senator for the opposition centre-left Democratic Party, said he had presented a parliamentary question for Justice Minister Carlo Nordio calling for a swift response.
“The heat, the overcrowding, the lack of personnel and the well-known structural shortcomings are providing inmates and staff with a huge test,” Martella said.
ANSA
