The claim came amid heated debate in Italy over whether 86-year-old Riina should be released from prison and put under house arrest due to health problems said to include cancer, heart disease and Parkinson's.
Italy's Supreme Court said on Monday the mobster, known as 'the Beast' had the right to "die with dignity" under house arrest like any other terminally ill prisoner, a ruling that has caused outrage among mafia victims and their families.
The final decision rests with a parole board in the northern city of Bologna, near Parma, where Riina is in jail.
Known for his exceptional brutality, Riina ordered the killings of magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who were blown up by mafia bombings in 1992.
Riina also infamously ordered the torture, strangulation and dissolving in acid of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the 13-year-old son of a Sicilian mafia informant, after holding the boy captive for two years.
Riina was captured by police in Palermo on January 15, 1993, after 23 years on the run. He was tried and convicted of over a hundred counts of murder, including the slayings of Falcone and Borsellino.
(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Doraiah Chowdary Vundavally is a Software engineer at VTech . He is the news editor of SocialNews.XYZ and Freelance writer-contributes Telugu and English Columns on Films, Politics, and Gossips. He is the primary contributor for South Cinema Section of SocialNews.XYZ. His mission is to help to develop SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgement towards any.
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