OVERCROWDING IN ITALIAN PRISONS HAS REACHED UNSUSTAINABLE LEVELS

ROME, AUGUST 5 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ - Overcrowding in Italian prisons has reached an unsustainable level, the Italian human rights organisation Antigone said.

"Given the steady increase in the number of prisoners, the Italian prison system has reached an unsustainable level of overcrowding. As of July 28, 2026, there were 64,741 inmates in prisons, while only 46,343 places were available, meaning that facilities were operating at 139.7 percent of capacity," the organisation said in its semi-annual report on the state of the prison system.

Such figures have not been recorded since 2013, when the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling against Italy over inhumane and degrading detention conditions.

"Italian prisons are facing a humanitarian crisis of a structural nature, further worsened by this summer`s heatwaves, while state policy offers no effective solutions and, in some cases, even further aggravates existing problems," the report added.