ROME - President Giorgio Napolitano has started a storm by urging parliament to amnesty minor offenders in a move seen by many as heralding pardon for Silvio Berlusconi.

 

The Italian president submitted a message to both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies calling the conditions in Italian prisons "galling" and stating that a response is a "legal, political, and moral imperative."

 

Italy has faced the problem of overcrowded prisons for many years, and in 2006, the country had granted amnesty to thousands of prisoners in order to reduce overcrowding. However, in the seven years since the mass release, the number of inmates has once again risen, with the prison capacity reaching 140.1 percent.

 

In 2009, seven inmates of Italian prisons filed complaints with European courts alleging that their cells lacked hot water and were severely overcrowded. Then in January of this year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy's prisons, housing roughly 67,000 inmates in structures built to accommodate only 45,000, have violated prisoners' rights.  The decision granted Italy one year to resolve the situation and imposed a fine of 100,000 euros. 

 

President Napolitano has called the court's decision a "mortifying confirmation" of the "inability of the Italian system to guarantee basic rights." He has suggested that prison sentences for minor crimes should be imposed less often and that people currently in prison for minor offences should be freed. 

 

The president's statement prompted criticism from members of Italy's 5-Star Movement (M5S), who accused him of suggesting the reforms in order to help former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who faces charges for tax fraud. The unofficial leader of the M5S, Riccardo Nuti, said that President Napolitano's move was "the first step to pardoning Berlusconi" and that the issue of resolving overcrowded prisons is just an "excuse." Another member of the M5S, Matteo Mantero, said that the call for action is "how they are repaying Berlusconi for not having collapsed the government."

 

In response to the accusations, Italian Justice Minister Annamaria Cancelliere stated that "it has never happened that amnesty is given for financial crimes," and that the accusation by members of the M5S are based on a "false idea."

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