Decision of the Court of Cassation, I Criminal Section, No. 32405 of 23 February 2017

The Court of Cassation upheld the recourse of a detainee convicted for serious crimes of mafia association against the decision of the Surveillance Court that had rejected his application for ending the severe detention regime ex Article 41 bis of the penitentiary system, to which he had been subjected for 20 years. For the Court, the fact that the claimant was more than 90 years old and with various physical diseases rendered the application of that regime incompatible with the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 3 of the ECHR and Article 4 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.