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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 atOpera prison [it], Lombardy

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 2022, Cospito was placed into the 41-bis prison regime, which involves solitary confinement for 22 hours every day. In protest, he began an ongoing hunger strike in October 2022, and there have been demonstrations and attacks in support. In February, the Supreme Court of Cassation rejected the appeal of Cospito's lawyer against his placement in the 41-bis system.


Early life

Cospito was born in Pescara in 1967.[1] He refused to continue military service after being conscripted in his twenties and was convicted of desertion, then pardoned by Francesco Cossiga, President of Italy, after going on hunger strike for one month.[2] In the early 1990s, he was involved in squatting actions in Bologna, Pescara and Lake Maggiore, being arrested for the attempt to make a self-managed social centre in a derelict factory in Pescara.[2][3] He moved to Turin and met his wife; together they ran a tattoo shop.[2] He is an anarchist.[2][4]

Kneecapping of Adinolfi

See also: Informal_Anarchist_Federation § Adinolfi_shooting

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, fracturing his knee, known as 'kneecapping'. A four-page communiqué sent to Corriere della Sera newspaper claiming responsibility for the shooting on behalf of the 'Olga Cell of the FAI/FRI' (tIalian: Federazione Anarchica Informale, FAI), taking its name in solidarity with imprisoned Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei member Olga Ikondomidou, several other attacks have been taken place under the moniker.[5][6][7] The shooting and continued threats against the Italian state tax collection agency, Equitalia[it], prompted the Italian then Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri to assign 18,000 police officers to security detail following the attack.[8]

In the early hours of the morning of 14 September 2012 Cospito was arrested with Gai in Turin.[9] The pair were linked to the crime via surveillance footage, wiretaps and textual analysis of the communiqué and were found guilty, sentenced to ten years and eight months.[10] Nicola Gai was released in 2020.[11]

Bombing of Carabinieri barracks

Exterior of building
The Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome

While serving his sentence, Cospito received an additional 20 year term for the 2006 bombing of a Carabinieri cadet barracks near Turin.[12] His partner Anna Beniamino was also convicted, receiving a sentence of 16 and a half years.[13] The bombing was planned with a booby-trap technique, with two explosive devices: a minor one to lure cadets out, and a second one with a much higher potential[14] (500 grams of black powder, along with bolts, screws and stones)[15] timed to explode 15 minutes later, to kill them.[15][16] The court found that only by chance the two explosions resulted in no casualties.[17]

The Supreme Court of Cassation changed the sentence to "political massacre", upgrading it from 20 years in prison to life without parole because, although no one has been killed in the attack,[18] the bomb could potentially harm people.[17] The FAI declared it was an attack against "the infamous Italian Republic and the equally infamous anniversary of the Carabinieri. We hit the Carabinieri school in Fossano to make them understand from an early age what admiration their criminal military career provokes in us, the exploited."[19]

41-bis and hunger strike

Grafiti in Biel (Switzerland), March 2023.

Cospito was moved into the restrictive 41-bis prison regime in Bancali prison in Sassari by the order of then Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia in May 2022.[20][21] This regime was created to stop mafia bosses communicating with their outside organizations and was later broadened to include "mafia, criminal, terrorist or subversive associations"; it involves solitary confinement for 22 hours every day, with visits restricted to one hour per month. Access to rehabilitation programs is severely limited, as much as needed to prevent communication with the criminal organisation the inmate belongs to.[22][23][24] Cospito commented "In addition to life imprisonment, given that from prison I continued to write and collaborate with the anarchist press, it was decided to shut my mouth forever with 41-bis".[25]

On 20 October 2022, Cospito began a hunger strike against the conditions of the 41-bis regime, losing almost 50 kg by 9 February.[10][26] More than 200 criminal lawyers and jurists signed a petition condemning the judicial treatment of Cospito.[10][27] In protest, anarchist groups held demonstrations in Bologna, Turin and Rome.[28][29] A Greek anarchist group called Revenge Cell Carlo Giuliani bombed a diplomat's car.[30] There have also been attacks on Italian diplomatic offices in Argentina, Bolivia, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. In response, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani claimed that an international anarchist network was carrying out an "attack against Italy, against Italian institutions", while Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi repeated the need for the 41-bis regime.[31] Incarcerated anarchists; Anna Beniamino, Juan Sorroche, and Ivan Alocco began hunger strikes in solidarity with Alfredo,[citation needed] Beniamino, incarcerated in Rebibbia Prison in Rome, stopped after 37 days,"I've reached my objective, to get people talking about Alfredo Cospito's condition," she said, continuing,"We mustn't lower our guard on detention conditions. Ours is a battle for all".[32]

A political scandal developed when Giovanni Donzelli [it], coordinator of the ruling Brothers of Italy party, announced in the Chamber of Deputies that Cospito was being manipulated by incarcerated mafia members and criticised members of the Democratic Party for meeting with him. Donzelli had been illegally leaked a video of Cospito in prison by his flatmate Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove [it] who is the Justice Minister's state secretary. The Democratic Party called for both men to resign and Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister and leader of the Brothers of Italy) called for calm.[26] The surveillance court in Rome rejected the appeal of Cospito against his prison conditions and Amnesty International made a plea on behalf of the human rights of Cospito.[1][4] The Supreme Court of Cassation set a date to hear his appeal against the 41-bis regime on 20 April 2023, then brought it forward to 24 February when Cospito's doctor and lawyer argued he would be dead by April.[33][34][35] At the end of January, Cospito was moved from Sardinia to Opera prison [it] in Milan on account of his deteriorating health. In February, Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio said he refused the appeal of Cospito's lawyer.[26][36] The Court of Cassation then rejected Cospito's appeal against the imposition of 41-bis. The National Bioethics Committee said it would continue to consider whether Cospito could refuse treatment.[37] After his appeal was rejected, Cospito was returned from the San Paolo hospital to the Opera prison's ICU, where he declared his intention to cease taking dietary supplements.[38] During an announcement by Cospito's lawyers that they were planning an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights,[39] they published a letter from Cospito in which he proclaimed his willingness to die in order to "let the world know what the 41 bis really is", stating in the letter; "I am convinced that my death will be an obstacle to this regime and that the 750 who have been suffering from it for decades will be able to live a life worth living, whatever they have done. I love life, I am a happy man, I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s life. And it is because I love it that I cannot accept this hopeless non-life."[40][41]

See also

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 d Chiocci, Gian Marco; Di Meo, Simone (15 September 2012). "Alfredo Cospito, il disertore "salvato" dalla Consulta". Il Giornale (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Cospito, l'anarchico che occupò l'Aurum: primo arresto nel '91". Il Centro (in Italian). 1 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Amnesty in fresh appeal for jailed anarchist head Cospito – English". ANSA. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  5. ^ Marone, Francesco (26 March 2014). "A Profile of the Informal Anarchist Federation in Italy". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Loadenthal, Michael. The Politics of the Attack: A Discourse of Insurrectionary Communiqués (PDF) (Ph.D.). George Mason University. p. 94. ISBN 9781321811629. ProQuest 1695806756.
  8. ^ "Fearing anarchist attacks, Italy tightens security". Los Angeles Times. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  9. ^ Vitale, Simona (14 September 2012). "Agguato Adinolfi, arrestati due anarco-insurrezionalisti". Attualissimo (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b c 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.
  11. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. ^ TG24, Sky. "Chi è l'anarchico Cospito e perché continua il suo sciopero della fame". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Panarelli, Giunio (31 January 2023). "Chi è l'anarchico Alfredo Cospito?". La Svolta (in Italian). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Attentato alla scuola allievi carabinieri di Fossano: dalla Granda partì la stagione degli attentati anarchici". Targatocn.it (in Italian). 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2023. La bomba a orologeria stavolta era stata piazzata in un raccoglitore dei rifiuti. Il potenziale di questultima era molto più elevato rispetto a quello dell'ordigno esploso pochi minuti prima. [This time the bomb was placed in a garbage canister. The potential of the latter was much higher than that of the device that exploded a few minutes earlier.]
  15. ^ a b "Attentato alla scuola allievi carabinieri di Fossano: dalla Granda partì la stagione degli attentati anarchici". Targatocn.it (in Italian). 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2023. La mano che le ha posizionate aveva l'intenzione di colpire, di uccidere e non solo per la quantità dell'esplosivo utilizzato, ma anche per i bulloni, le viti, le pietre contenute all'interno della bomba e che al momento della deflagrazione sono stati scagliati con violenza a oltre cento metri di distanza. [The hand that placed them had the intention to strike, to kill, and not only because of the amount of the explosive used, but also because of the bolts, screws, and stones contained inside the bomb and which at the moment of the deflagration were hurled violently over a hundred meters away.]
  16. ^ "Dall'attentato alla scuola carabinieri alle bombe alla Crocetta: quei nove mesi di paura firmati Fai. Gli inquirenti: "Volevano uccidere"". la Repubblica (in Italian). 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023. E sempre nel 2006, a giugno, la caserma degli allievi carabinieri di Fossano, nel Cuneese, venne presa di mira: un primo ordigno, lasciato davanti al portone e poco più di un petardo, per attirare fuori i militari. Quindici minuti dopo, l'esplosione della bomba vera, posizionata a una decina di metri di distanza: cinquecento grammi di polvere nera, bulloni e biglie compressi in una scatola di ferro. [translation: And again in 2006, in June, the Carabinieri cadet school in Fossano, in the vicinity of Cuneo, was targeted: an initial device, left in front of the front door and a little more than a firecracker, to lure the soldiers out. Fifteen minutes later, the explosion of the real bomb, placed some ten meters away: five hundred grams of black powder, bolts and small spherical objects packed into an iron box.]
  17. ^ a b "Processo ad Alfredo Cospito, chiesto l'ergastolo. Corteo degli anarchici: ferito un barista". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 5 December 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023. Non ci furono vittime, ma per la Cassazione, fu solo una casualità, vista anche la tecnica «a trappola», cioè con timer programmati a orari diversi uno dall'altro. [translation: There were no victims, but for the Court of Cassation it was just by chance, given the "trap" technique, that is, with timers programmed at different times one from the other]
  18. ^ Merlo, Giulia. "Cospito, l'anarchico al 41bis che rischia l'ergastolo per una strage senza morti". www.editorialedomani.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023. Solo nel caso di Cospito e Beniamino, invece, i giudici di Cassazione hanno deciso di rinviare gli atti alla corte d'assise d'appello di Torino per un ricalcolo in peggio della pena solo per l'episodio della caserma allievi, accogliendo la richiesta della procura di riqualificare il reato in "strage politica" [...] Il reato previsto all'articolo 285, invece, è di strage "allo scopo di attentare alla sicurezza dello stato" ed è un delitto contro la personalità dello stato, punito con l'ergastolo senza alcuna variante di pena anche senza che la strage abbia provocato morti.
  19. ^ "Quelle bombe del 2006 contro i carabinieri, la Cassazione: "Fu strage politica". La Stampa (in Italian). 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023. [...] l'infame Repubblica italiana e l'altrettanto infame anniversario dell'Arma dei carabinieri [...] Abbiamo colpito la scuola allievi carabinieri di Fossano, per fargli capire già da piccoli quale ammirazione sollevi la loro criminale carriera tra noi sfruttati
  20. ^ Canepa, Carlo (3 February 2023). "È vero che Cospito è già stato graziato nel 1991 per uno sciopero della fame?". Pagella Politica (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Jailed anarchist has lost 40kg on hunger strike – lawyer – English". ANSA. 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Il caso dell'anarchico Cospito al 41bis e la riflessione necessaria sul nostro sistema detentivo". Valigia Blu (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023. Il codice dell'ordinamento penitenziario vigente prevede la compresenza sia di "gravi motivi di ordine e di sicurezza pubblica" sia di reati in grado di agevolare "associazioni di tipo mafioso, criminale, terroristico o eversivo". Il fine di questo regime detentivo è quello di interrompere tutti i legami tra il detenuto e l'organizzazione di appartenenza. [The current Prison Code requires the co-presence of both "serious reasons of public order and security" and crimes capable of facilitating "mafia, criminal, terrorist or subversive associations." The purpose of this detention regime is to sever all ties between the detainee and the organization to which he belongs]"
  23. ^ "Alfredo Cospito, chi è: cosa ha fatto e perché gli anarchici lo vogliono fuori dal carcere". Money (in Italian). 2 December 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Carcere duro [art. 41-bis] in "Diritto on line"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023. Secondo quanto stabilito nel co. 2, il regime detentivo speciale comporta le restrizioni necessarie per il soddisfacimento delle esigenze di ordine e di sicurezza e per impedire i collegamenti con le associazioni di appartenenza. Il legislatore, dunque, nel ribadire lo scopo di prevenzione della misura, ne vincola il contenuto alle sole restrizioni che si pongano con quello scopo in una relazione funzionale. [According to what is stated in section 2, the special detention regime entails the restrictions necessary for the fulfillment of the requirements of order and security and to prevent connections with the associations to which they belong. The legislature, therefore, in reaffirming the preventive purpose of the measure, binds its content to only those restrictions that stand in a functional relationship with that purpose.]
  25. ^ Merlo, Giulia. "Cospito, l'anarchico al 41bis che rischia l'ergastolo per una strage senza morti". www.editorialedomani.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023. Nel corso del processo, Cospito è intervenuto con dichiarazioni spontanee: "Oltre all'ergastolo ostativo, visto che dal carcere continuavo a scrivere e collaborare alla stampa anarchica, si è deciso di tapparmi la bocca per sempre con il 41 bis"
  26. ^ a b c "Nordio rejects Cospito appeal against 41 bis (9) – English Service". ANSA. 9 February 2023. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  27. ^ "CASTELLAMONTE – Scritte anarchiche di fronte al Bennet a sostegno di Alfredo Cospito – FOTO". QC Quotidiano del Canavese (in Italian). 20 November 2022. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Anarchici in corteo contro il carcere duro ad Alfredo Cospito. Scritte e vetrine danneggiate in centro". BolognaToday (in Italian). 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Violence, vandalism at anarchist demonstration in Turin". ANSA. 5 December 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Anarchists claim Athens arson attack on Italian embassy car". AP NEWS. 8 December 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  31. ^ Barry, Colleen (31 January 2023). "Italy on alert amid anarchist attacks on diplomatic missions". Associated Press. Milan. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  32. ^ "Cospito partner suspends hunger strike, focus on him". ANSA. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  33. ^ "Anarchist Cospito appeal to high court set in 3 mts time". ANSA. 25 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  34. ^ "La Corte di Cassazione ha anticipato al 7 marzo l'udienza sul ricorso di Alfredo Cospito contro il 41-bis". Il Post (in Italian). 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  35. ^ "La Corte di Cassazione ha anticipato al 24 febbraio l'udienza sul ricorso di Alfredo Cospito contro il 41-bis". Il Post (in Italian). 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  36. ^ "Alfredo Cospito: Hunger-striking Italian anarchist moved amid protests". BBC News. 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  37. ^ "Cospito, la Cassazione rigetta il ricorso contro il 41bis - Cronaca". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Cospito moves back from hospital to jail". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  39. ^ "Cospito mulling appeal to ECHR". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  40. ^ "Alfredo Cospito and the letter written from Bancali prison released by his lawyer: "I'm ready to die against 41 bis"". L'Unione Sarda. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  41. ^ Cospito, Cospito. "I Am Ready To Die". The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alfredo_Cospito&oldid=1145503391"