Italy: Decree to introduce pardon underway (1)
01 May 2006
On 24 July 2006, the Italian parliament's justice commission approved a pardon for crimes committed prior to 2 May 2006 involving prison sentences of no more than three years and fines of up to 10,000 Euros. Scrutiny in the parliament and senate is now underway, with the lower chamber (parliament) voting in favour on 27 July 2006 by 460 votes to 94, with 18 abstaining. The pardon has caused a split in the governing coalition, as the former judge Antonio di Pietro, now leader of the
Italia dei Valori party, opposed the measure by accusing the government of "selling out its political dignity" by giving in to "blackmail" by the opposition, most notably due to the failure to exclude certain corruption-related crimes from the measure in order to secure a consensus.
The measure is envisaged as a way of reducing the ever-increasing problem of overcrowding in Italy's prisons, where over 60,000 detainees are held in jails with an overall capacity for 42,000 people. It is estimated that over 10,000 detainees will benefit from this measure. A long list of crimes is excluded, including terrorist and terrorist-related offences, membership of an armed group or Mafia-style organisation, prostitution and child prostitution or pornography, people trafficking, sexual violence or sexual relations with minors, kidnapping, money laundering and drug offences. Patrizio Gonnella, president of
Associazione Antigone, an organisation that promotes rights and guarantees in the penal system, and Franco Corleone, the Florence city council's ombudsman for detainees, issued a joint statement in which they welcomed this "good news" and called on the senate to approve the measure definitively prior to the summer break.
Ddl Camera 525 Concessione di indulto, full-text, in Italian, available at: http://www.cittadinolex.kataweb.it/article_view.jsp?idArt=43715&idCat=120; For ongoing coverage on the Italian penal system: Associazione Antigone, http://www.associazioneantigone.it; Repubblica 27.7.06.