Police ill-treatment: the ECHR condemns Italy

Personal injuries and mistreatment by police officers, compounded by the consequences of the statute of limitations, led the European Court of Human Rights to convict Italy for violation of Article 3 of the European Convention that prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. In the ruling filed on 5 June in Cioffi v. Italy (Case 17710/15), the Court also found that, after Italy was convicted in the Cestaro judgment, despite the adoption of new legislation aimed at proscribing torture as a crime, our country failed to punish those responsible and did not apply sanctions commensurate with the seriousness of the facts.

The appeal was filed by an Italian citizen who, in 2001, participated in a manifestation against globalisation in Naples, during which the police intervened. While the plaintiff was in the emergency room, he was picked up by officers and taken to a police station. Here the maltreatment began, with the applicant, who was a legal practitioner at the time, being hit with slaps and kicks in a sort of corridor. 'Particularly odious treatment', the judges specified, which led to the opening of an enquiry and criminal proceedings that were closed by prescription, with the exception of two officers who renounced their claims.

The man appealed to the European Court which, with an excessively long delay (the appeal was filed in 2015 and the ruling arrived in 2025), found that Italy had violated, both procedurally and substantively, Article 3 of the Convention that prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment. The applicant," the Court writes, "wasthe victim of heinous acts, including physical and verbal abuse that resulted in the man's prolonged state of fear. The Court also stigmatises the duration of the proceedings: in the face of particularly serious acts against 31 officers, except in two cases, the passage of time led to the statute of limitations, thus preventing the establishment of criminal responsibility and the punishment of the perpetrators.

The Court then recalled the conviction imposed in 2015, in which it required Italy to adopt a law to include the offence of torture in the legislation, so as to ensure effective punishment of law enforcement or state organs: the judges do not consider the Italian legal framework to be adequate, in particular because of the prescription system that led the Court of Appeal to take note of the passage of time for the suspects, being able to arrive at a finding of liability for only two officers who waived the terms.

The punishment system was also considered inadequate, taking into account the fact that there was no entry in the criminal record, that the execution of the sentence imposed was suspended and that the disciplinary sanctions had been insufficient. The Court also emphasised that in cases of inhuman or degrading treatment, States must not allow those responsible to benefit from measures that are incompatible with European jurisprudence, including the statute of limitations preventing the punishment of those responsible for acts contrary to Article 3, despite all the efforts made by the judicial authorities. In addition to condemning Italy, the Court ordered the Government to pay the plaintiff EUR 30,000 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage.