In Italian prisons, prisoners have less than three square meters of space per detainee.

Omissions

• The statistic refers specifically to cells in 30 out of 95 visited prisons (approximately 32%), not all Italian prisons or all cells
• The claim generalizes from specific worst-case conditions to the entire prison system
• The Antigone report was published in 2025, and the MEP spoke on 2026-04-28
• The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) recommends a minimum of 4m² per person in collective cells and 6m² for single cells

Sources

• PrimaryAntigone Association - XXI Annual Report on Prison Conditions in ItalyOf the 95 Italian prisons visited by Antigone, 30 had cells with less than 3 square meters per detainee. The modules will house four detainees in rooms with a total surface area of about 30 square meters.
• SecondaryUniversity of Padua Human Rights Centre - Antigone mid-year report presentationAs of June 2025, Italian prisons held over 60,000 people in detention with an overcrowding rate of 134.3%.
• SecondaryPrison Insider - Italy prisons 2025Overall occupancy levels reached 135% in 2025. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) recommends a minimum of 6m² for single cells and 4m² per person in collective cells.