Decision of the Third Assize Court of Rome of 5 June 2013

In the criminal proceeding for the death of Stefano Cucchi, the Assize Court of Rome acquitted the prison officers accused of personal injury and abuse of power, because there was no evidence that they had inflicted blows to the prisoner while he was in their custody, awaiting the validation of the arrest. To the contrary, the Court convicted doctors and managers of the correctional section of the Sandro Pertini Hospital in Rome, who had omitted care and treatment necessary to the detainee. The Court noted (pages 158 and 159 of the judgment) that, under the Constitution, the right to health shall be guaranteed also in prison, as being linked to the rehabilitation of the convicted persons. Torture and ill treatment of persons in prison are in breach of the ECHR and are contrary to the “Minimum Standards on the treatment of detainees” recommended by the Council of Europe in 1987.