By C1 Staff
MILAN — Sixteen Italian correctional officers have been suspended after allegedly posting comments on Facebook that celebrated the suicide of an inmate.
The International Business Times reports that the posts referred to the death of Ioan Gabriel Barbuta, 39, who was serving a life sentence for murder in Milan’s Opera jail.
“One less,” a user wrote.
“Great, I hope he suffered,” said another.
“They should provide them with more ropes,” a third commented.
“One less Romanian who killed an elderly man. Hurrah!” posted another.
The posts were picked up by local media, sparking nationwide outrage.
Most of the comments left were made by accounts that appeared to be controlled by members of Italy’s prison police force. One had a man in uniform as its profile picture while others listed policeman or prison guard as their profession.
When questioned by lawmakers, prison officials said they were probing that the comments’ authors were actually prison guards. Those who were suspended were disciplined as a precautionary measure, pending further investigation.