10
GUZZARDI v. ITALY JUDGMENT
2. Possibilities of movement
26. The Government maintained before the Commission that one could
circulate at will within Cala Reale. According to Mr. Guzzardi on the other
hand, an instruction issued by the officer in charge of the carabinieri
restricted movement for persons in compulsory residence to a radius of
about 800 metres.
27. Persons in compulsory residence had no access to the prison zone or
to Cala d’Oliva. The inhabitants of the latter village could, in contrast, visit
Cala Reale whenever they pleased, whereas outsiders - such as tourists were in principle not allowed to go there.
28. Persons in compulsory residence could apply for authorisation to visit
Sardinia or the Italian mainland if they had good reasons, such as medical
treatment, family grounds or compliance with an order of the judicial
authorities.
The Government stated that authorisation was "normally" given on
production of the appropriate documents of following a brief police enquiry,
but according to the applicant it was very difficult to obtain. Even in the
case of urgent medical treatment, so he contended, there was a long delay,
sometimes as much as a whole month. In any event, such trips were made
under the strict supervision of the carabinieri.
29. There existed the additional possibility of going in turn to Porto
Torres to buy provisions, likewise after authorisation and under supervision.
The frequency of the crossings as well as the number of participants were
the subject of dispute. The Government spoke of four persons per week,
whereas for Mr. Guzzardi it was just one; he claimed that he had had to wait
six months before receiving the necessary permission.
3. Accommodation
30. Most of the persons in compulsory residence were housed in two
buildings belonging to the former medical establishment; these buildings
were fairly large and consisted principally, so it seems, of bedrooms with
one or two beds.
A third building, a small construction known as the "Pagodina", was
allocated to "residents" (soggiornanti) who were accompanied by their
families. The "Pagodina" contained two flats each comprising a bedroom
and a kitchen.
The applicant lived in one of the main buildings or in the "Pagodina",
depending upon whether he was alone or with his family. He could not go
out between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., except in case of necessity and after having
notified the authorities in due time (see paragraph 12 above).
31. These various buildings were somewhat dilapidated. According to
Mr. Guzzardi, their state of disrepair was such as to render them almost
uninhabitable. For the Government, on the contrary, the condition of the