Modena prosecutors have concluded no crime was committed by prison police officers during the March 8, 2020 riot at Sant’Anna prison, which occurred at the start of the pandemic and resulted in the deaths of nine inmates. Prosecutor Luca Masini and deputy prosecutors Lucia De Santis and Francesca Graziano, after nearly a year of further investigations ordered by preliminary investigations judge Carolina Clò, have reached the same findings as an initial probe and have again requested the dismissal of the case. The case involves allegations of torture and injury against approximately ninety officers, based on complaints by inmates who reported beatings.
In a nearly 400-page document, largely reiterating the findings that led to the first dismissal request, the prosecution states that even after additional investigations, a systematic analysis of the evidence fails to identify any criminal offenses. The prosecutors emphasize that the accounts provided by the complainants were deemed substantially unreliable and that it was impossible to establish a causal link between the inmates’ injuries and specific unlawful actions by the prison staff.
Furthermore, the investigation found no evidence of conduct deliberately intended to inflict acute suffering, trauma, or inhumane or degrading treatment by the prison police. This assessment covers the complex operation to retake control of the facility – which was effectively under inmate control after the riot – and to restore basic security rules meant to protect the inmates themselves.
A separate case file concerning the inmate deaths had previously been dismissed. However, that case is now before the European Court of Human Rights awaiting a ruling.