Europe

Home page

Europe

Six inmates are killed in Italy after setting fire to their prison in anger at a coronavirus-prevention ban on family visits - as similar protests spread through jails across the country

09 March 2020 16:22 (UTC +04:00)

Six prisoners have died after a series of jailhouse riots in Italy which were sparked by tough new measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, APA reports citing Daily Mail.

Inmates set their prison on fire in Modena yesterday in an angry protest over a ban on family visits, unions said.

Six inmates are confirmed to have died, including three who had been transferred to different prisons as authorities tried to quell the uprising.

Justice ministry sources said two of the deaths in Modena were caused by an overdose from drugs found in the jail infirmaries, while a third prisoner was found blue in the face and their cause of death was still unclear.

Police were today clashing with relatives who had gathered outside the jail, in northern Italy which is at the centre of the virus outbreak.

The riot was one of several around the country with other disturbances taking place in Salerno, Naples and Milan among others.