“If we don’t get the crime of torture in our penal code, Italy will become a paradise of torturers,” declared Patrizio Gonnella, president of Associazione Antigone, at the sit-in organized by his NGO that took place in front of the Italian Parliament on October 13.
Among the participants there were Antonio Marchesi (President of Amnesty International - Italia), Ilaria Cucchi (Stefano Cucchi’s sister, who as been fighting for justice for his brother ever since his death in detention seven years ago), and Rita Bernardini from Radicali Italiani.
A 28-year delay
Italy ratified the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) in 1989, and since then has had the obligation to include the crime of torture in its penal code, but it has failed to do so. Twenty-five years ago, the Parliament started the first discussion on torture, which was abandoned. Since then, Italy has received warnings from several international bodies and institutions.
The latest comes from the European Court of Human Rights, which in 2015 handed down a judgment against the policemen involved in the raid in the Diaz school during the Genoa G8 summit in 2001.
This judgment gave new energy to the debate: Antigone was able to gather more than 50,000 signatures on the petition to urge the introduction of the crime of torture in the penal code and the Parliament started to talk about complying with the treaty.
After the approval of a first version of the law by the Deputies’ Chamber, the law passed to the Senate… and there it stayed.
A paradise for torturers?
The debate died because some political forces are still convinced that the introduction of this crime will impair the job of police forces and the Carabinieri, but this fear has no foundation. In fact, the inclusion of the crime would protect both citizens and police forces from any kind of abuse.
The prohibition of torture is included in the jus cogens, the core rights of international law; this means that no state can ever derogate it.
"We also must not forget that torture is a crime against humanity,” says again Patrizio Gonnella, "but in Italy we can’t punish torturers and, if a torturer comes to Italy, we can’t extradite him because we don’t have the crime of torture in our penal code."
Which means our country is going to turn into a safe haven for torturers if we don't criminalize torture.
