House arrest for mobsters stirs political circles in Italy. Political leaders attack decision
Exponents of two of Italy's most dangerous mafia groups were placed under house arrest last week for health reasons.
Pasquale Zagaria, linked to the mafia Camorra, from Naples, and Francesco Bonura, from Sicilian Cosa Nostra, were subjected to the total isolation regime called “41 bis”, but ended up benefiting from court decisions.
The first is an entrepreneur and brother of Michele Zagaria, head of the powerful Casalesi clan imprisoned since 2011.
According to the Sassari Surveillance Court, the health structures in the Sardinian prisons, where Pasquale is serving a 20-year sentence, do not offer the conditions for the mobster to be treated for a “serious illness”.
The surveillance magistrates also tried to request the transfer of Pasquale, who is 60 years old, but they say they have not received a response from the Department of Penitentiary Administration, a body subordinate to the Ministry of Justice.
Francesco Bonura, sentenced to 18 years and eight months in prison for mafia association, benefited from a decision by the Milan Surveillance Court, also for suffering from “very serious illnesses” of an oncological and cardiorespiratory nature.
In his decision, the judge still cites the “current health emergency and the related risk of contagion” by the new coronavirus, but says that Bonura's progression to home care is not linked to the rules approved by the government to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
Bonura, 78 years old, was defined by whistleblower Tommaso Buscetta (1928-2000) as a “valuable mafioso” and was the “colonel” of Bernardo Provenzano, the head of Cosa Nostra who died in 2016.
House arrest for those convicted of minor crimes
Last March, the Italian government approved a rule that provides for house arrest for inmates convicted of minor crimes and with less than 18 months to spend.
The initiative aims to reduce overcrowding in Italian prisons in times of coronavirus and does not apply to criminals sentenced for mafia association. Still, the release of Pasquale and Bonura from prison heated up the political debate.
“The madness of the times of coronavirus: the mafiosi at home and the Italians in prison, but [the Prime Minister] Conte and [the Minister of Justice] Bonafede are not moving a finger”, attacked the ascendant Giorgia Meloni, president of the extreme party right Brothers of Italy (FdI).
The League, led by senator Matteo Salvini, wants to call on the Minister of Justice, Alfonso Bonafede, to provide clarifications at the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission. “We want to know what the minister intends to do so that the most dangerous inmates do not return to their territories”, says a note from the party.
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Maria Falcone, sister of anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, murdered by Cosa Nostra in 1992, also joined the criticism. “There is great concern that the coronavirus emergency could be exploited by mobsters to get out of jail. Obviously, the freedom of magistrates to make their decisions, certainly always dictated by respect for the rules, is not under discussion. But the fear is that bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of coordination will become accomplices of criminals,” she said.
To respond to criticism, the government is preparing a rule to restrict the possibility of house arrest for mafiosi, involving the National Anti-Mafia Directorate in decisions. (HANDLE)
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