Trapani's Blue Section: A Haven of Abuse and Humiliation in Prison  

 Numerous incidents of violence and humiliation have occurred within the Blue Section of Trapani’s Pietro Cerulli prison. These abuses, perpetrated by the Penitentiary Police officers, spanned from 2021 to 2023. The agents believed they were operating in an area devoid of surveillance cameras, with their colleagues covering up the violence instead of reporting it.

The investigation into the Blue Section, which led to the arrest of 11 officers, began following reports from two inmates who were victims of brutal assaults, exposing a systematic abuse system.

The probe was initiated by the account of an inmate transferred to Trapani prison in September 2021, who reported being beaten after protesting his denied request for a video call. The officers allegedly intervened to extinguish a fire the inmate had set in his cell and subsequently beat him with kicks and punches. Following the assault, he was confined for five days in a "bare cell," devoid of furnishings, and did not receive proper medical treatment.

Another inmate described being beaten after an escape attempt. Taken to the Blue Section, he was forced to walk naked down a corridor and then slapped and punched inside his cell. Both inmates identified their assailants, including some senior inspectors and penitentiary assistants.

These harrowing episodes, documented in disturbing detail, marked the beginning of an inquiry that led to charges of torture and unveiled a culture of widespread abuse in the Trapani prison. From these stories, the investigation expanded, and cameras were installed in the Blue Section. The footage shocked investigators.

The police unit, self-dubbed the "little squad," would intervene en masse, employing brutal methods. A detainee unwilling to sign a transfer was threatened with a gun (unbeknownst to him, unloaded) pointed at his head and forced to crawl to the desk.

Altered cigarettes and nocturnal humiliations were part of the violence repertoire. One notable incident involved an inmate with psychiatric issues who should have received careful supervision but was instead mocked and abused. "They grabbed me from behind, beat me, punched me. It really hurt. I remember I was naked because I had just come out of the shower. They kicked me into the corridor," he recounted. Then, they threw a bucket of water mixed with urine at him. The officers laughed, intending to hit him "like a piñata."

Some officers even handed out cigarettes laced with a sedative. One officer expressed concern, "What if he dies?" Yet, no further action was taken to stop the violence. Nor did other officers who witnessed the maltreatment act to end the degradation.

Mockery and racist humiliations were also part of the abuse. A detainee from Mali was subjected to degrading treatment; stripped naked in front of seven officers who made vulgar comments about his genitals. This search, lacking any official orders, was deemed entirely illegitimate by investigators.

On July 22, 2023, another inmate fell victim to a brutal beating by six officers, which began after he protested not receiving barber services and grabbed a walkie-talkie. One officer slapped the inmate, triggering a scuffle that resulted in the inmate being repeatedly kicked and punched while on the ground, defenseless.

The culture of violence extended beyond physical acts. Officers involved, as evidenced by intercepts, falsified service reports to justify the abuse or falsely accuse inmates. In one case involving a foreign inmate, officers claimed he had assaulted a psychologist, a claim disproven by video recordings.

These intercepts revealed the punitive mentality of some officers. In one conversation, an officer stated that the inmate "needs to be beaten into submission." The same officer complained about medical staff who opposed denying necessary treatments, accusing them of "siding with the inmates."

In the hellish reality of the Blue Section, after the assaults, inmates cowered in cell corners. From cell to cell, the sound of beatings echoed, "I heard the noise of how they were hitting him," one inmate described. The noise of beatings, the moans from a dark corner of the world—a place where humanity ceased to exist.