ROME — Prison riots have broken out across Italy, leading to at least one reported instance in which 20 inmates managed to escape, in one of the first visible signs of social turmoil linked to the coronavirus outbreak, according to police and prison union officials, as well as Italian media reports.

The riots, which began Saturday and continued to escalate on Monday, stem from restrictions that have been put in place against visitors to limit the spread of the coronavirus — chiefly the suspension of visiting hours and drastically reduced time out of cells.

By midafternoon, unrest was reported in 27 Italian prisons, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency.

The coronavirus-related restrictions were the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in places with already-high tensions, said Gennarino De Fazio, a union leader for prison guards. De Fazio described “grave problems” in prisons across the country, including in Naples, Modena, Foggia, Frosinone, Milan, Palermo and Modena.

ANSA reported that 20 prisoners had managed to escape from the …continued .
[Source: Washington Post]