A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #20-25 - Behind the Bars of Marassi - Repression and Structural Violence of the State (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The case of an 18-year-old prisoner tortured for two days (between June 
1 and 3) in the Marassi prison raises crucial questions about the nature 
of penitentiary institutions and the mechanisms of power that support 
them. From an anarchist point of view, this story represents yet another 
emblematic example of the profound contradictions and injustices 
inherent in a system that is based on repression, the suppression of 
freedom, the normalization of state violence and the culture of 
oppression within it. ---- Liguria, with its prison power structures, 
ranks seventh in the shameful list of prisons in Italy for overcrowding 
and suicide rates. The Marassi prison, with about 700 inmates out of 500 
available "places", has about 134% overcrowding and it seems that there 
were four of them in that damned cell with the abused young man who had 
already been moved from cell to cell several times for "relational 
problems". Five is a nice crowd of people that the fascist state of the 
moment manages to stuff into a small, dilapidated and old room in the 
Marassi prison, a structure from the 1800s. And it seems that it was the 
four attackers who called the guards, worried about the health of the 
boy they had raped for two days. Did the guards not see or hear anything 
for two days? Who knows... But the Marassi prison is not new to violence 
between inmates: in 2021 Emanuele Polizzi was found dead with marks on 
his body that were not attributable to suicide and two cellmates were 
investigated.

But then again, if the entire prison system is based on truncheons, 
guns, fears, abuses, bars, segregations, punishments, injustices, 
hostility and competition... what do you expect? And yet, despite this, 
the protests inside the Marassi prison that exploded on June 4th in 
support of the young man who was raped still indicate that empathy, 
mutual aid and resistance live inside the souls of people, even those 
condemned to live inside the violence, injustices and abuses of the States.

These protests are really important because then the "only" cost borne 
by the States for the abuses carried out is that of being "condemned" by 
one of those institutions that provides a quasi-democratic appearance to 
this despotic system in which we live, the European Court of Human 
Rights. In fact, this has repeatedly condemned Italy for the treatment 
of prisoners in prisons, highlighting violations of Article 3 of the 
European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman 
or degrading treatment, noting conditions of overcrowding and lack of 
adequate care for prisoners, especially those with psychiatric problems. 
Of course, state massacres are committed in prisons: many people have 
committed suicide, 91 in 2024 and 33 up to May 2025. In the period 
2021-2024 - we read in the dossier of the National Guarantor of Persons 
Deprived of Liberty (Gnpl) - 294 suicides occurred in prison with an 
average of about 73.5 suicides per year. In prison, after all, the 
suicide rate is 25 times higher than in the rest of the "free" population.

For anarchist ideology, prison has never been an effective or just 
solution to social problems, but rather a mechanism of oppression that 
serves to maintain the status quo of power of the dominant classes. The 
detention of individuals, often for crimes that highlight social 
inequalities and structural oppression, translates into a system that 
criminalises poverty, marginalisation and diversity.

In the case of Marassi, the fact that an 18-year-old is abused and 
tortured without officers or other inmates apparently having anything to 
do or say, highlights how the penitentiary system is incapable and/or 
uninterested in ensuring the safety and fundamental rights of inmates. 
The failure to observe or, worse, the implicit complicity of figures of 
authority, suggests that violence is an integral part of this 
institution, fuelled and protected by power structures that justify 
themselves through oppressive norms and practices.

The investigation by the Genoa prosecutor's office highlights how the 
omissions of the agents and the leaders of the penitentiary police can 
be considered not only a case of negligence, but also a manifestation of 
a culture of impunity rooted in state institutions. This culture is 
based on the idea that the authorities are above the law and can act 
without consequences, especially when it comes to maintaining order and 
control.

The apparent innocence in the face of violence in prison cells reveals 
how the penitentiary system is structured to preserve its own interests, 
often to the detriment of the life and dignity of prisoners. The 
protection of human rights becomes an exception rather than the rule, 
and responsibility is often hidden behind a veil of silence and 
institutional secrecy.

From an anarchist perspective, violence in prison is not an exception, 
but rather an intrinsic component of state repressive practices. 
Torture, beatings, and harassment are disciplinary tools that reinforce 
the hierarchy and subservience among prisoners, but also between 
prisoners and officers. Violence thus becomes a means of control and 
maintenance of power, justified by the logic of "law" and "public 
order". The case of Marassi confirms this thesis: an 18-year-old boy, 
vulnerable and unable to defend himself, is brutally tortured without 
anyone intervening. This episode shows how institutions take on the role 
of agents of oppression, fueling a cycle of violence that continues 
without stopping. Responsibility is not limited to individual figures of 
agents or leaders, but extends to the entire repressive system and its 
logic. The presence of omissions and collusion between the various 
components of the penitentiary system reveals how this structure is a 
product of a social order based on rivalry, control and domination.

The case of Marassi is an example of how institutions, rather than 
protecting human rights, contribute to perpetuating a cycle of violence 
and oppression. The response to this situation cannot be entrusted to 
the authorities or to partial reforms, but requires a radical 
dismantling of all the power structures that support the penitentiary 
system. We do not limit ourselves to denouncing injustices, our proposal 
is that of a radical renewal of the ways of managing society and social 
relations. The fight for the abolition of prison, and more generally for 
the end of state repression, is based on the belief that individual and 
collective freedom can only be achieved through self-management, 
equality and solidarity. In this perspective, surveillance and control 
practices must be replaced by forms of social organization based on 
mutuality, mutual respect and solidarity, eliminating the power 
structures that fuel violence and oppression.

The case of Marassi represents a warning against the normalization of 
violence and against the logics of oppression that characterize the 
penitentiary system. It is essential to denounce these injustices, 
promote autonomy and self-management of communities and work to create a 
world without chains or barriers, where freedom and dignity are rights 
for all, not privileges for a few. Only through a radical critique of 
institutions and a collective commitment to social change can we hope to 
build a more just, free and supportive society.

Let it be clear, this is not about asking for the abolition of criminal 
law, nor even of administrative law that puts migrants in prison and has 
heavily repressed many important movements, such as NoMuos. This is not 
about reforms or referendums. We write to bring people to a critical 
awareness of themselves, of their environment, and of the systems of 
power that surround us; we write with the pain and anger of those who 
have decided to look oppression straight in the eye, we write to share 
discussions and alternative actions to authority in all its forms. We 
write to bring people to ask questions and become skeptical of all 
authorities, even those that may seem benevolent. It will not be reforms 
within the States that will reduce the oppression that we experience 
every day on our bodies and our lives. It will be the awakening of the 
consciences of those who at a certain point, even suddenly, decide to 
say enough, to no longer give up their responsibility and their life to 
the political party of the moment. When these ENOUGH become not only a 
cry, but a clear feeling shared by thousands, these will then become 
millions and while the States will try in every way to use the latest 
weapons of mass repression at their disposal, the overcoming of the 
States will also happen by itself in the forms that people will deem 
most appropriate. We know with historical certainty that the more the 
restrictions become harsher the more the pressure will lead to the 
implosion of the system, but in this round of the carousel we will hope 
for a system that does not repeat itself with other state-like and 
oppressive forms.

Gabriele Cammarata

https://umanitanova.org/tra-le-sbarre-di-marassi-repressione-e-violenza-strutturale-dello-stato
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