Alfredo Cospito
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Alfredo Cospito
OR:
Alfredo Cospito on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Alfredo Cospito (born 1967) is an Italian
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
. He was sentenced to 10 years for
kneecapping Kneecapping is a form of malicious wounding, often as torture, in which the victim is injured in the knee. The injury is typically inflicted by a low-velocity gunshot to the knee pit with a handgun. The term is considered a misnomer by medical p ...
the head of the Italian nuclear power company Ansaldo Nucleare in 2012, and subsequently to
life without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
for bombing a
Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
barracks. In 2022, Cospito was placed into the 41-bis prison regime, which involves
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
for 22 hours every day. In protest, he began an ongoing
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
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 Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
in 1967. He refused to continue military service after being
conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
in his twenties and was convicted of desertion, then pardoned by
Francesco Cossiga Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; sc, Frantziscu Maurìtziu Còssiga, ; 1928 – 2010)
. was an Italian pol ...
,
President of Italy The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...
, after going on
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
for one month. In the early 1990s, he was involved in
squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
actions in
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, Pescara and
Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...
, being arrested for the attempt to make a self-managed social centre in a derelict factory in Pescara. He moved to Turin and met his wife; together they ran a tattoo shop. He is an
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
.


Kneecapping of Adinolfi

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 Kneecapping is a form of malicious wounding, often as torture, in which the victim is injured in the knee. The injury is typically inflicted by a low-velocity gunshot to the knee pit with a handgun. The term is considered a misnomer by medical p ...
'. A four-page communiqué sent to ''
Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
'' newspaper claiming responsibility for the shooting on behalf of the '''Olga Cell of the FAI/FRI''' (tIalian: ''
Federazione Anarchica Informale Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI) (in Italian: ''Federazione Anarchica Informale'') is an insurrectionary anarchist organization. It has been described by Italian intelligence sources as a "horizontal" structure of various anarchist groups, ...
'', FAI), taking its name in solidarity with imprisoned
Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei ( el, Συνωμοσία Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς, Synomosía Pyrínon tis Fotiás, abbrev. SPF), also translated as Conspiracy of Fire Cells or Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, is an anarchist urban guerrill ...
member Olga Ikondomidou, several other attacks have been claimed under the moniker. The shooting and continued threats against the Italian state tax collection agency, Equitalia it.html"_;"title=":it:Equitalia.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:it:Equitalia">it">:it:Equitalia.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:it:Equitalia">it_prompted_the_Italian_then_Ministry_of_the_Interior_(Italy).html" "title=":it:Equitalia">it.html" ;"title=":it:Equitalia.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:it:Equitalia">it">:it:Equitalia.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:it:Equitalia">it prompted the Italian then Ministry of the Interior (Italy)">Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Annamaria Cancellieri to assign 18,000 police officers to security detail following the attack. In the early hours of the morning of 14 September 2012 Cospito was arrested with Gai in Turin. The pair were linked to the crime via surveillance footage,
wiretaps Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol s ...
and
textual analysis Content analysis is the study of documents and communication artifacts, which might be texts of various formats, pictures, audio or video. Social scientists use content analysis to examine patterns in communication in a replicable and systematic ...
of the communiqué and were found guilty, sentenced to ten years and eight months. During the trial, Cospito and Gai claimed responsibility for the attack, with Cospito stating; “On a splendid May morning I took action and in those few hours I fully enjoyed life. For once I left fear and self-blame behind and challenged the unknown. In a Europe dotted with nuclear power plants, one of the main culprits of the nuclear disaster to come has fallen at my feet." Nicola Gai was released in 2020.


Bombing of Carabinieri barracks

While serving his sentence, Cospito received an additional 20 year term for the 2006 bombing of a
Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
cadet barracks near Turin. His partner Anna Beniamino was also convicted, receiving a sentence of 16 and a half years. 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 (500 grams of
black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...
, along with bolts, screws and stones) timed to explode 15 minutes later, to kill them. The court found that only by chance the two explosions resulted in no casualties. The Supreme Court of Cassation changed the sentence to "political massacre", upgrading it from 20 years in prison to
life without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
because, although no one has been killed in the attack, the bomb could potentially harm people. 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."


41-bis and hunger strike

Cospito was moved into the restrictive 41-bis prison regime in Bancali prison in
Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
by the order of then
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
Marta Cartabia Marta Cartabia (; born 14 May 1963) is an Italian jurist and academic who served as Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Cartabia previously was Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy between 2011 and 2020, ...
in May 2022. 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 Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
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. 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". On 20 October 2022, Cospito began a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
against the conditions of the 41-bis regime, losing almost 50 kg by 9 February. More than 200 criminal lawyers and jurists signed a petition condemning the judicial treatment of Cospito. In protest, anarchist groups held demonstrations in Bologna, Turin and Rome. A Greek anarchist group called Revenge Cell Carlo Giuliani bombed a diplomat's car. 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 An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Matteo Piantedosi Matteo Piantedosi (born 20 April 1963) is an Italian civil servant and politician serving as the minister of the interior in the Meloni Cabinet since 22 October 2022. An independent politician, Piantedosi is close to Lega's leader Matteo Salvini ...
repeated the need for the 41-bis regime. Other prisoners began hunger strikes in solidarity with Cospito. Anna Beniamino, incarcerated in
Rebibbia Prison Rebibbia is an urban zone of Rome, Italy. It was located on the road Via Tiburtina on the north-east edge of the city. Administratively Rebibbia is part of both Ponte Mammolo quarter of Rome and Municipio IV of Rome. The suburb, first developed ...
in Rome, endended her strike after 37 days. A political scandal developed when , coordinator of the ruling
Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...
party, announced in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
that Cospito was being manipulated by incarcerated mafia members and criticised members of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
for meeting with him. Donzelli had been illegally leaked a video of Cospito in prison by his flatmate who is the Justice Minister's state secretary. The Democratic Party called for both men to resign and
Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Italy since 22 October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006, she has led the ...
(
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
and leader of the Brothers of Italy) called for calm. The surveillance court in Rome rejected the appeal of Cospito against his prison conditions and
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
made a plea on behalf of the human rights of Cospito. 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. At the end of January, Cospito was moved from Sardinia to in Milan on account of his deteriorating health. In February, Minister of Justice
Carlo Nordio Carlo Nordio (born 6 February 1947) is an Italian politician, former magistrate and prosecutor, who is serving as Italian Minister of Justice since 22 October 2022, in the government of Giorgia Meloni. In 2022 Italian presidential election, 2022, ...
said he refused the appeal of Cospito's lawyer. The
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
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. 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 supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
s. During an announcement by Cospito's lawyers that they were planning an appeal to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
, 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." On 21 March 2023, Cospito's lawyer reported that while waiting on an appeal to be transferred to
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
, Cospito had suffered
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
, his condition stabilizing after receiving an injection of
potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
. Defense doctors reported that it may have already caused permanent damage, including
paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...
; medical staff at the hospital played down the report, speaking just of "a moment of fatigue immediately overcome with the potassium supplement."


See also

*
Alfredo Bonanno Alfredo Maria Bonanno (born 1937 in Catania, Italy) is a main theorist of contemporary insurrectionary anarchism A long-time anarchist, he has been imprisoned multiple times. Bonanno is an editor of ''Anarchismo Editions'' and many other public ...
*
Anarchism in Italy Italian anarchism as a movement began primarily from the influence of Mikhail Bakunin, Giuseppe Fanelli, and Errico Malatesta. Rooted in collectivist anarchism, it expanded to include illegalist individualist anarchism, mutualism, anarcho-s ...
*
Anarchist Black Cross The Anarchist Black Cross (ABC), formerly the Anarchist Red Cross, is an anarchist support organization. The group is notable for its efforts at providing prisoners with political literature, but it also organizes material and legal support for c ...
*
Insurrectionary anarchism Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory and tendency within the anarchist movement that emphasizes insurrection as a revolutionary practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based o ...
*
Individualist anarchism in Europe Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William Godwin Woodcock, George. 2004. '' Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20. and soon expanded and diversified through Europe, i ...
*
Prison Abolition The prison abolition movement is a network of groups and activists that seek to reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with systems of rehabilitation that do not place a focus on punishment and government institutiona ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cospito, Alfredo 1967 births Living people Italian anarchists Hunger strikers People from Pescara People from Turin People convicted on terrorism charges Insurrectionary anarchists 20th-century squatters


External links


Writings by Alfredo Cospito at The Anarchist Library