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Alfredo Cospito

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Alfredo Cospito
Born1967 (age 56–57)
Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy
NationalityItalian
Known forKneecapping of Roberto Adinolfi,
2006 Fossano bombing,
hunger strike
MovementAnarchist
Criminal statusIn prison
AllegianceInformal Anarchist Federation
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Imprisoned atBancali prison, Sassari, Sardinia

Alfredo Cospito (born 1967) is an Italian anarchist. He was sentenced to 10 years for kneecapping the head of the Italian nuclear power company Ansaldo Nucleare in 2012, and subsequently to life without parole for bombing a Carabinieri barracks in Fossano. In 2022, Cospito was placed in the restrictive 41-bis prison regime and began an indefinite hunger strike to protest the conditions.

Shooting of Roberto Adinolfi

Cospito was born in Pescara in 1967 and lived in Turin. He is an anarchist.[1][2] On 7 May 2012, Cospito and his accomplice, Nicola Gai, rode on a motorbike to the house of Roberto Adinolfi, executive of the Italian nuclear power company Ansaldo Nucleare. The pair shot Adinolfi in the leg three times, facturing his knee,[3] a tactic used previously by the Red Brigades.[2][4] A letter sent to Corriere della Sera newspaper claimed responsibility for the shooting on behalf of the Olga Nucleus of the Informal Anarchist Federation.[2][5]

In the early hours of the morning of September 14, 2012 Cospito was arrested with Gai in Turin.[6] He was sentenced to ten years and eight months.[7] Nicola Gai was released in 2020.[8]

Bombing of Fossano cadet school

While serving his sentence, Cospito was charged along with his wife Anna Beniamino for the 2006 bombing of the Carabinieri cadet school near Turin.[9] The bombing was planned with a booby-trap technique:[10] two explosive devices, a minor one to draw rescuers and policemen, and a second high-power one, timed to explode later, to kill them. The court found that only by chance the two explosions resulted in no casualties.[11]

During the trial, the Court of Cassation ruled that the crime had terrorist motives, upgrading Cospito's sentence to life without parole.[12]

Cospito, as the "head and organizer of an association with terrorist purposes", was deemed a security risk and placed into 41-bis prison regime in the Bancali supermax prison in Sardinia.[13][7] The 41-bis directive was first created to stop mafia bosses communicating with their outside organizations and involves solitary confinement for 22 hours every day, with visits restricted to one hour per month. All access to rehabilitation programs is blocked.[14][7] Over 200 criminal lawyers and jurists signed a letter condemning the judicial treatment of Cospito.[7]

Hunger strike

On 20 October 2022, Cospito began a hunger strike against the conditions of the 41-bis prison regime, losing 35kg by the end of the year.[7] In protest, anarchist groups held demonstrations in Bologna, Turin and Rome.[15][13] On 2 December, a Greek anarchist group called Revenge Cell Carlo Giuliani bombed the empty car of Italian diplomat Susanna Schlein, the sister of Elly Schlein.[16]

The surveillance court in Rome rejected the appeal of Cospito against his prison conditions.[1] Amnesty International made a plea on behalf of the human rights of Cospito in January 2023.[17] The Supreme Court of Cassation set a date to hear his appeal against the 41-bis regime on 20 April 2023.[18]

Selected works

  • Cospito, A. – 2013 – From the Belly of the Leviathan – Declaration at the trial for the wounding of Roberto Adinolfi
  • Cospito, A. – 2017 – Operation Scripta Manent statement to court
  • Cospito, A. – 2021 – On the "Proposal For a New Anarchist Manifesto"

References

  1. ^ a b Mauro, Cifelli (21 December 2022). "Confermato 41bis per Alfredo Cospito. Anarchici in fermento: presidio sotto al ministero e manifestazione il 31 dicembre" [Confirmed 41bis for Alfredo Cospito. Anarchists in ferment: protest under the ministry and demonstration on December 31st]. Roma Today (in Italian). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Marone, Francesco (26 March 2014). "A Profile of the Informal Anarchist Federation in Italy". Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Gunmen On Motorbike Shoot Italian Nuclear Firm CEO". HuffPost. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Gunmen On Motorbike Shoot Italian Nuclear Firm CEO". HuffPost. Reuters. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. ^ Kington, Tom (11 May 2012). "Italian anarchists kneecap nuclear executive and threaten more shootings". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  6. ^ Vitale, Simona (14 September 2012). "Agguato Adinolfi, arrestati due anarco-insurrezionalisti". Attualissimo (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Castrillo, Pedro (30 November 2022). "Huelgas de hambre contra el régimen de aislamiento del preso anarquista Alfredo Cospito en Italia" [Hunger strikes against the solitary confinement of anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito in Italy]. El Salto (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Anarchici: scarcerato Nicola Gai, condannato per l'attentato a Roberto Adinolfi" [Anarchists: Nicola Gai released from prison, convicted of the attack on Roberto Adinolfi]. la Repubblica (in Italian). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  9. ^ TG24, Sky. "Chi è l'anarchico Cospito e perché continua il suo sciopero della fame". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ ""A Capaci fu una strage, a Fossano no". Il caso dell'anarchico Cospito finisce alla Consulta". La Stampa (in Italian). 6 December 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.[verification needed]
  11. ^ "Processo ad Alfredo Cospito, chiesto l'ergastolo. Corteo degli anarchici: ferito un barista". Corriere della Sera. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. ^ Merlo, Giulia. "Cospito, l'anarchico al 41bis che rischia l'ergastolo per una strage senza morti". www.editorialedomani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Violence, vandalism at anarchist demonstration in Turin". ANSA. 5 December 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Alfredo Cospito, chi è: cosa ha fatto e perché gli anarchici lo vogliono fuori dal carcere". Money (in Italian). 2 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Anarchici in corteo contro il carcere duro ad Alfredo Cospito. Scritte e vetrine danneggiate in centro". BolognaToday (in Italian). 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Anarchists claim Athens arson attack on Italian embassy car". AP NEWS. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Amnesty in fresh appeal for jailed anarchist head Cospito – English". ANSA. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Anarchist Cospito appeal to high court set in 3 mts time". ANSA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
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