Two Regional Council committees (Culture and Health) met to address a thorny issue: the arrival of 92 prisoners under the 41-bis regime at Uta. But the main "guests" at the hearing, the directors of Sardinian prisons and the regional superintendent of the Department of Penitentiary Administration, did not show up. This wholesale absence raises a suspicion: were they receiving orders from above, therefore directly from the Ministry of Justice?
This is a question posed by the commission chairs, Camilla Soru and Carla Fundoni, who were unable to ask the questions they had planned.
According to Democratic Party members, the opening of the wing of the Ettore Scalas prison is a "serious and extremely delicate decision, imposed from above, taken without any prior consultation with Sardinian institutions, and destined to have significant repercussions on a regional prison system already plagued by serious problems: overcrowding, staff shortages, extreme environmental conditions, and serious difficulties in managing prison healthcare, the responsibility for which has fallen to the regions since 1999."
Today the intention was to "finally" initiate a public, transparent, and responsible debate on a topic of clear general interest.
"However," Soru and Fundoni emphasize, "we note with deep regret that the regional prison administrator and the prison directors have decided not to respond to the summons. This is a serious decision, which we believe cannot be personal," the pin states, "but which in any case must be reported to the administration to which they belong, and which in any case makes it impossible for a democratically elected Regional Council to independently carry out its duties of oversight, analysis, and direction on an issue that affects public safety, collective health, and the social balance of an entire community."
A decision, that of not showing up, "which raises further, and serious, questions about the state of the institutional dialogue between the State and the Region , or rather about the State's choice to avoid such dialogue."
"The decision by the Regional Superintendent of Prison Administration and the directors of Sardinian prisons not to respond to the call from the Sardinia Regional Council Committees is extremely serious and unprecedented," Democratic Party Senator Marco Meloni stated. "Since it is unbelievable that state officials would simultaneously decide to skip an institutional hearing on such a sensitive issue, I will submit an urgent question to the Minister of Justice to determine whether this absence is the result of a decision by the Ministry he heads . If so, we would be faced with a very serious institutional disregard, which undermines the collaborative relationship between the State and the Sardinia Region."
"Those who represent the institutions have a duty to engage, to respond, to be accountable," Meloni continues. " Refusing institutional dialogue means weakening transparency, demeaning the principle of loyal cooperation, and ignoring the legitimate prerogatives of a democratically elected assembly . There is unsustainable pressure on prisons in Sardinia, which affects the safety, healthcare, and social balance of the entire regional community. The State cannot turn a blind eye. We will continue to urge the government to address the gravity of the situation."
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)