Turin's CIE - International University College of Turin

“[A]t times police beat people. A policeman threatened to kill him [a fellow detainee]. A
policeman entered the room at night and beat him up for no reason. Once the Guardia di
Finanza entered in the isolation room where there was a guy and they beat him up harshly
They should not even enter into the isolation rooms. I saw this with my eyes 91 . And nothing
was done to those Finanzieri. […]I’m talking about the military personnel […]. More
precisely, I’m not talking about the army, they are good guys. Rather, I’m talking about the
Finanzieri and Carabinieri, they are the ones that tend to be dangerous” (Interview 15).
It is difficult to measure the level of violence inside immigration detention: “However inside CIE
there is a space of suspension of the law: if a policeman beats you, of course you cannot denounce
it” (Interview 28).
We received allegations that the controversial measures of high-pressure water cannons and
tear gas have been used inside Turin’s CIE:
“In October the Carabinieri came because the guys were causing trouble, they were
protesting, trying to escape and Carabinieri used a lot of tear gas against them. But it was
horrible for the girls as well: we were feeling really bad, our eyes hurting and full of tears”
(Interview 17) 92 ;
“Yesterday evening, the guys in the area near our area started a revolt 93 . It was the Blue
Area. They caused a big racket. Guards came with batons and helmets. They were
Carabinieri, Polizia, Guarda di Finanza and the Army, all of them. And, they shot us with
water [water cannons]. I was sleeping. I heard the noise so all of us went out from our
rooms. We saw all of these guards there. Some of them were shooting water and some of
them were beating up the guys from the Blue Area. When they shot with water it was really
something strong. The water has a pressure similar to seventy or eighty kilometers per
hour. It’s like as if they were shooting with guns” (Interview 22).
Police use of water cannons has come under extremely negative criticism due to the harm that
can be caused by them. For example, in September 2010 in Stuttgart, Germany a protester was
blinded by a water cannon 94 . Given the enclosed spaces within the CIE and the complete control
exerted over the CIE inmates, the use of such extreme measures is highly questionable.
The detainees inside the CIE are all rights holders and have the right to be treated with dignity
and in a humane manner. The obligation that a State has to protect individuals within detention
from violence is even higher owing to the fact that detained individuals are wholly under the
control and care of State facilities. Indeed, the ECtHR has expressly ruled that if any individual
within detention is subjected to any kind of cruel or inhuman treatment or is killed within
detention, then the burden of proof is on the State 95 . We repeatedly heard from detainees that
there was no accessible way to complain about specific individuals’ behaviour at Turin’s CIE.
Yet, the State has a positive obligation to protect detainees against harmful actions by State
91 From the Violet Area it might be possible to see the isolation cells. See the map of Turin’s CIE under Part B.
Conditions of Detention, Chapter IV. Day-to-day Issues.
92 The women’s area (Green Area) is located next to two male areas. See the map of Turin’s CIE under Part B.
Conditions of Detention, Chapter IV. Day-to-day Issues.
93 This detainee was living in the Red Area.
94 See for example: Unknown author, “Blinded Stuttgart 21 protester wants apology”, The Local: Germany’s
News in English (online), 28 December 2010 .
95 Anguelova v. Bulgaria, 38361/97, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 13 June 2002, paras.
110-111; Salman v. Turkey, 21986/93, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 27 June 2000,
para. 100; Demiray v. Turkey, 27308/95, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 21 November
2000.
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