The case of an 18-year-old prisoner tortured for two days (between June
1 and 3) in the Marassi prison raises crucial questions about the natureof penitentiary institutions and the mechanisms of power that support
them. From an anarchist point of view, this story represents yet another
emblematic example of the profound contradictions and injustices
inherent in a system that is based on repression, the suppression of
freedom, the normalization of state violence and the culture of
oppression within it. ---- Liguria, with its prison power structures,
ranks seventh in the shameful list of prisons in Italy for overcrowding
and suicide rates. The Marassi prison, with about 700 inmates out of 500
available "places", has about 134% overcrowding and it seems that there
were four of them in that damned cell with the abused young man who had
already been moved from cell to cell several times for "relational
problems". Five is a nice crowd of people that the fascist state of the
moment manages to stuff into a small, dilapidated and old room in the
Marassi prison, a structure from the 1800s. And it seems that it was the
four attackers who called the guards, worried about the health of the
boy they had raped for two days. Did the guards not see or hear anything
for two days? Who knows... But the Marassi prison is not new to violence
between inmates: in 2021 Emanuele Polizzi was found dead with marks on
his body that were not attributable to suicide and two cellmates were
investigated.
But then again, if the entire prison system is based on truncheons,
guns, fears, abuses, bars, segregations, punishments, injustices,
hostility and competition... what do you expect? And yet, despite this,
the protests inside the Marassi prison that exploded on June 4th in
support of the young man who was raped still indicate that empathy,
mutual aid and resistance live inside the souls of people, even those
condemned to live inside the violence, injustices and abuses of the States.
These protests are really important because then the "only" cost borne
by the States for the abuses carried out is that of being "condemned" by
one of those institutions that provides a quasi-democratic appearance to
this despotic system in which we live, the European Court of Human
Rights. In fact, this has repeatedly condemned Italy for the treatment
of prisoners in prisons, highlighting violations of Article 3 of the
European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman
or degrading treatment, noting conditions of overcrowding and lack of
adequate care for prisoners, especially those with psychiatric problems.
Of course, state massacres are committed in prisons: many people have
committed suicide, 91 in 2024 and 33 up to May 2025. In the period
2021-2024 - we read in the dossier of the National Guarantor of Persons
Deprived of Liberty (Gnpl) - 294 suicides occurred in prison with an
average of about 73.5 suicides per year. In prison, after all, the
suicide rate is 25 times higher than in the rest of the "free" population.
For anarchist ideology, prison has never been an effective or just
solution to social problems, but rather a mechanism of oppression that
serves to maintain the status quo of power of the dominant classes. The
detention of individuals, often for crimes that highlight social
inequalities and structural oppression, translates into a system that
criminalises poverty, marginalisation and diversity.
In the case of Marassi, the fact that an 18-year-old is abused and
tortured without officers or other inmates apparently having anything to
do or say, highlights how the penitentiary system is incapable and/or
uninterested in ensuring the safety and fundamental rights of inmates.
The failure to observe or, worse, the implicit complicity of figures of
authority, suggests that violence is an integral part of this
institution, fuelled and protected by power structures that justify
themselves through oppressive norms and practices.
The investigation by the Genoa prosecutor's office highlights how the
omissions of the agents and the leaders of the penitentiary police can
be considered not only a case of negligence, but also a manifestation of
a culture of impunity rooted in state institutions. This culture is
based on the idea that the authorities are above the law and can act
without consequences, especially when it comes to maintaining order and
control.
The apparent innocence in the face of violence in prison cells reveals
how the penitentiary system is structured to preserve its own interests,
often to the detriment of the life and dignity of prisoners. The
protection of human rights becomes an exception rather than the rule,
and responsibility is often hidden behind a veil of silence and
institutional secrecy.
From an anarchist perspective, violence in prison is not an exception,
but rather an intrinsic component of state repressive practices.
Torture, beatings, and harassment are disciplinary tools that reinforce
the hierarchy and subservience among prisoners, but also between
prisoners and officers. Violence thus becomes a means of control and
maintenance of power, justified by the logic of "law" and "public
order". The case of Marassi confirms this thesis: an 18-year-old boy,
vulnerable and unable to defend himself, is brutally tortured without
anyone intervening. This episode shows how institutions take on the role
of agents of oppression, fueling a cycle of violence that continues
without stopping. Responsibility is not limited to individual figures of
agents or leaders, but extends to the entire repressive system and its
logic. The presence of omissions and collusion between the various
components of the penitentiary system reveals how this structure is a
product of a social order based on rivalry, control and domination.
The case of Marassi is an example of how institutions, rather than
protecting human rights, contribute to perpetuating a cycle of violence
and oppression. The response to this situation cannot be entrusted to
the authorities or to partial reforms, but requires a radical
dismantling of all the power structures that support the penitentiary
system. We do not limit ourselves to denouncing injustices, our proposal
is that of a radical renewal of the ways of managing society and social
relations. The fight for the abolition of prison, and more generally for
the end of state repression, is based on the belief that individual and
collective freedom can only be achieved through self-management,
equality and solidarity. In this perspective, surveillance and control
practices must be replaced by forms of social organization based on
mutuality, mutual respect and solidarity, eliminating the power
structures that fuel violence and oppression.
The case of Marassi represents a warning against the normalization of
violence and against the logics of oppression that characterize the
penitentiary system. It is essential to denounce these injustices,
promote autonomy and self-management of communities and work to create a
world without chains or barriers, where freedom and dignity are rights
for all, not privileges for a few. Only through a radical critique of
institutions and a collective commitment to social change can we hope to
build a more just, free and supportive society.
Let it be clear, this is not about asking for the abolition of criminal
law, nor even of administrative law that puts migrants in prison and has
heavily repressed many important movements, such as NoMuos. This is not
about reforms or referendums. We write to bring people to a critical
awareness of themselves, of their environment, and of the systems of
power that surround us; we write with the pain and anger of those who
have decided to look oppression straight in the eye, we write to share
discussions and alternative actions to authority in all its forms. We
write to bring people to ask questions and become skeptical of all
authorities, even those that may seem benevolent. It will not be reforms
within the States that will reduce the oppression that we experience
every day on our bodies and our lives. It will be the awakening of the
consciences of those who at a certain point, even suddenly, decide to
say enough, to no longer give up their responsibility and their life to
the political party of the moment. When these ENOUGH become not only a
cry, but a clear feeling shared by thousands, these will then become
millions and while the States will try in every way to use the latest
weapons of mass repression at their disposal, the overcoming of the
States will also happen by itself in the forms that people will deem
most appropriate. We know with historical certainty that the more the
restrictions become harsher the more the pressure will lead to the
implosion of the system, but in this round of the carousel we will hope
for a system that does not repeat itself with other state-like and
oppressive forms.
Gabriele Cammarata
https://umanitanova.org/tra-le-sbarre-di-marassi-repressione-e-violenza-strutturale-dello-stato
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