Italy’s migrant detention centers in spotlight after death of Guinean and calls to close them down

Walter Verini, left, Ilaria Cucchi and Ivan Scalfarotto exit a migrant repatriation center in Ponte Galeria, on the outskirts of Rome, after a visit March 6. The Radicali Roma, an association affiliated with the Italian Radical Party, started an online petition Friday calling on center-left Mayor Roberto Gualtieri to close Rome’s repatriation center in Ponte Galeria, citing repeated episodes of violence, suicide and protests by desperate detainees. Last month, Rome’s city assembly called on Gualtieri to open “urgent” negotiations with government authorities to close the Ponte Galeria, given the “serious violations of human rights suffered by people detained there.” Even Italy’s national guarantor for the rights of prisoners, Mauro Palma, weighed in after visiting the center in December. People are kept here without any hope.” Sen. Walter Verini, with the opposition Democratic Party, said while criticism of the centers had been continuous for years, the government’s new provisions allowing for detention of up to 18 months required immediate action. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has described the expansion of the network of repatriation centers as a “fundamental” element in the government’s overall migration strategy, and said the difficult conditions found in them are the result of riots and vandalism by the detainees.