An inquiry is underway to verify the causes of the death in prison on September 26 of a citizen from Senegal. Three doctors are under investigation for the hypothesis of manslaughter in the region of Campania.
The man, named Sylla Mamadou Khadialy, was a 35-year-old Senegalese citizen. He died while under prison detention on Friday, September 26. The prosecutor of Maria Capua Vetere, a city in the Italian region of Campania, ordered the autopsy and registered three doctors under investigation as possibly responsible for the crime of manslaughter.
Two of the doctors were on duty at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison, and one was part of the Health Assistance.
The facts preceding the death of Khadialy Khadialy's story begins on the morning of September 25 at the station of Caserta, where the 35-year-old allegedly attacked a man, who was a friend of his, and then attempted to throw himself against a woman. At that point, three agents of the Railways (POLFER) who were patrolling the station intervened.
Khadialy reportedly attacked them in return. One of them was diagnosed with a fractured nose. Nonetheless, the agents were able to block the man and brought him to the hospital in Caserta. At that time, the man was reported to be profoundly agitated.
In the hospital, the Senegalese man was placed under a doctor's examination, and some sedatives were administered to him. Once released from the hospital, the man was taken to the POLFER office, where, however, once again, the health staff was forced to intervene; this time, it was the staff of the 118 emergency service. It is probable that, in that circumstance, additional drugs were administered to the 35-year-old man.
Right after this incident, Khadialy was transferred to prison, where he died on the morning of September 26.
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Association Centro Sociale Ex Canapificio calls for truth and justice
Following the death of the Senegalese man, hundreds of persons, simple citizens and migrants, took to the streets on September 30 in Caserta to call for "Truth and Justice for Sylla Mamadou Khadialy".
The association Centro Sociale Ex Canapificio, which managed the Sprar project (a protection system for those requesting asylum and refugees), led the protests together with other associations. The Senegalese had been sheltered in Caserta in 2018 by this Social Center. In particular, the Senegalese man was part of the "Piedibus" project, where he walked children to school on foot.
There was also Mamadou Kouassi Pli Adama present at the march, an activist of Centro Sociale Ex Canapificio, the one who inspired the movie "Io Capitano" by Matteo Garrone.
"We want to understand what happened to Sylla and especially why he died suddenly while he was held under the custody of public institutions. Our requests are legitimate," stated the activist.
On the issue, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Nicola Molteni, intervened. On October 1, he met with the three POLFER agents who were wounded, along with the Member of Parliament of Caserta of the Lega party, Giampiero Zinzi, and the Police Chief of Caserta, Andrea Grassi.
"I wanted to show them my personal appreciation and that of the Lega party, expressing gratitude for their courage and the sense of duty they showed", said Molteni, adding that we must not "criminalize nor delegitimize the Police, because this weakens the country's democratic system," Molteni stated.
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