A group of migrants from the Permanence and Repatriation Center (CPR) in Ponte Galeria, in Rome, clashed with the Police on Sunday. The confrontation was sparked after a 22-year-old Guinean man was found dead, having hung himself from the bars of his room. In response, some migrants at the center broke the iron gates and pelted the police with stones. The police retaliated with tear gas and water cannons. There were attempts to set fire to a police car, but the flames were swiftly extinguished. No injuries were reported, and the situation eventually calmed down.

According to activist groups, the young Guinean man had recently come from another migrant center in Trapani, Sicily, where similar altercations had occurred. It was revealed that he had been seen crying in despair multiple times, expressing a desire to return to his country due to his responsibility as an older brother.

The incident has brought attention to the conditions within the Ponte Galeria CPR. Riccardo Magi, a deputy and secretary of the + Europe party, visited the center and noted the young man’s visible distress. Laria Cucchi, a senator of the Greens and Left party, had previously filed a complaint with the Rome prosecutor’s office after visiting the center undercover and witnessing the unfavorable living conditions endured by the migrants.

CPRs are facilities where undocumented migrants are held while awaiting repatriation to their home countries. They can be detained for a maximum of 18 months under the latest regulations implemented by the right-wing government of Giorgia Meloni.