They find listening devices in their cells, Albanians clash with Italian police, the video is broadcast LIVE

A revolt broke out last night, September 30, at the Don Bosco prison in Pisa, Italy, after several inmates, among them Albanians, claimed they had discovered listening devices in their cells.

Around 40 inmates took control of a section of the prison and barricaded themselves inside it. They demanded to meet the prison police commander and the director of the institution.

The situation was brought under control only in the late hours of the night, after negotiations and the intervention of police forces. Several inmates, suspected of being among the organizers of the revolt, were transferred to other prisons in Tuscany.

According to reports, the protest began at around 19:00, after a live broadcast on TikTok made by one of the inmates. The broadcast was followed by around 15,000 people before it was interrupted. A little earlier, several inmates had discovered small listening devices in their cells, allegedly placed for investigative purposes. Their discovery caused tensions and then the revolt.

During the TikTok broadcast, several inmates appeared with uncovered faces and no visible signs of violence. They spoke in Italian and Albanian and claimed they had been beaten with batons by prison staff. The inmates also opposed the use of listening devices in their cells and demanded to be able to speak freely without fear that their conversations were being wiretapped.

In the video, the conversation in Albanian and Italian goes as follows:

—Oh no!

—Go away, you pieces of s***!

—No, they’ve come!

—Go away!

—I f*** your sister! Go away, you trash!

—Now they’ve surrounded them.

—They’ve surrounded them, huh?

—Yes, yes!

—Bring the fridges! Block the place!

—Hey brother, say the name of the prison!

—No, they’ve gone to them!

Dozens of officers from the police, the carabinieri and the prison police arrived at Don Bosco to restore control. During the intervention there were clashes between several inmates and the officers, while ambulances also arrived at the prison to help anyone who might have been injured.

According to reports, tear gas may also have been used during the intervention to restore calm. In the published footage, officers are seen with anti-riot equipment, shields and batons, on the stairs connecting the prison’s floors, while the inmates were on the other side of a metal gate.

After negotiations, around 50 inmates left the section of the prison they had taken under control. However, around 30 of them stayed waiting for a mediator who was expected to arrive from Florence. Meanwhile, outside the prison, dozens of family members and friends of the inmates gathered, worried about the situation.

Besides the claims about wiretapping, the inmates also raised concerns about conditions in the prison, especially the overcrowding of cells and the institution’s hygienic-sanitary state. After several hours of tensions and negotiations, the situation in the prison was brought under control. The authorities also began procedures to transfer several of the inmates to other penitentiary institutions in Tuscany.