Naples, April 12 (LaPresse) – "The use of wristbands? It’s a perfectly normal practice, part of the operational procedures that are autonomously adopted by the operators. And it’s not that I’m distancing myself; I claim and share it." This was stated by the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, in a press conference at the end of the meeting of the interior ministers of the Med5 countries in Naples, regarding the use of wristbands to handcuff migrants transferred to Albania. "These were people being transferred under conditions of restriction of personal freedom – also due to a judicial order," Piantedosi emphasized, adding that limiting their freedom of movement would have exposed police personnel to the possibility of having to act directly against any potential actions that these individuals could take. "We would have had to quadruple the staff accompanying them, another ship would have been needed, and the transfer would have been very costly, and you would have accused us of spending too much money on this kind of operation." Furthermore, Piantedosi added, "An evaluation was made considering the presumed dangerousness of these individuals. Of the 40 people transported, 5 had convictions for sexual violence, one for attempted murder, crimes against property, theft, and resisting public officials. A broad sample of criminal records that characterizes them as dangerous individuals, and as such, subject to detention."
© Copyright LaPresse
