Stefano Borriello died in August 2015 in the Italian prison in Pordenone. According to the inquiry into his death, he succumbed to "common bacterial pneumonia" — but is that really what happened?

After eight months of silence, the public prosecutor's office of Pordenone finally presented its report of the death of Stefano Borriello. The 29-year-old man died suddenly on August 7, 2015, after two months in custody.

No explanation for his death was immediately released, and concerns were raised over the similarities with other cases of mysterious deaths in Italian prisons. Numerous comparisons have been made between Borriello's death and the death of Stefano Cucchi in 2009.

Finding those responsible

Last week, the public prosecutor concluded that Borriello had died of "common bacterial pneumonia." His obvious aim is to archive the case as a death due to an untreatable illness, and thus remove fault from anyone.

Attorney Simona Filippi, who represents the Borriello family and is also Antigone's ombudsman, registered a complaint to the public prosecutor's office, asking it to shed light on the circumstances that led to the death of Borriello.

The current explanations are blatantly insufficient. How can a 29-year-old man die because of a curable disease that creates many obvious symptoms, such as fever and pain in the chest, with no one noticing until after he died?

Bacterial pneumonia can be cured if treated from the onset of the first symptoms. Stefano Borriello, therefore, was clearly the victim of negligence on the part the penitentiary staff.

Sadly, Stefano Borriello's death is not an isolated case in Italy. Violence against inmates is still way too frequent, and too many deaths occur. That is why this case must not be closed before the responsible parties are punished and their negligence is recognized as the real cause of Stefano's death.