Order of the Surveillance Court of Bologna of 21 May 2013

The Surveillance Court of Bologna rejected the petition to may serve custodial sentence under house arrest of one of the four police officers who had been convicted for having caused the death of Federico Aldrovandi, during his arrest, through a disproportionate use of force. For the Court, the acts of violence against Aldrovandi must be described as acts of torture under international customary law and the applicable treaties to which Italy is a party or, at least,  as being a inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 of the ECHR. The Court further noted that from the ECHR it derives the obligation to apply effective sanctions; therefore, detention penalty cannot be symbolic, or without concrete consequences, but must be effective.