Italy told to end prison overcrowding

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STRASBOURG, France, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday it is giving Italy a year to end overcrowding in its prisons that has led to human rights violations.

The pilot judgment issued by the court came in the case of seven inmates serving sentences at Busto Arsizio and Piacenza prisons, a document released by the court registrar said.

Seven inmates said they each were sharing prison cells with two other inmates even though the cells were sized for only one person.

Italy's prison conditions have long been the source of criticism from human rights groups, ANSA reported.

Last month the Permanent Observatory on Prison Deaths issued a report that inmate suicides in Italy are 20 times that of the general population.

The report attributed the situation to mostly "environmental factors" and "illegal" detention conditions.