Italy’s migrant jails are squalid and chaotic. A young man from Guinea was desperate to escape
By PAOLO SANTALUCIA, GIADA ZAMPANO, ANNIE RISEMBERG and BOUBACAR DIALLO
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — The suicide of a young man from Guinea inside one of Italy’s migrant detention centers has shined a spotlight on the squalid, chaotic conditions. Lawyers and activists have described the centers as “black holes for human rights.” The Italian government says the de facto jails are essential to deterring migrants from crossing the Mediterranean on smuggler’s boats. But for Ousmane Sylla, who developed mental health issues after leaving Guinea, they were unbearable. He killed himself in February, and his family blames the Italian government.
