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, united in their beliefs in revolutionary armed action. Groups and individuals comprising the FAI act both as separate organizations and also under the FAI, and are known to format group campaigns. The FAI notably shares similar aims and ideals with

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 ...

(''Synomosía ton Pyrínon tis Fotiás'', abbrev. SPF), the two often working in solidarity with each other, the SPF being known to announce solidarity with FAI in their communiques. The group has its roots in Italy, but, since 2012, has begun executing attacks in various countries across the world. Consistent with insurrectionary anarchism, the FAI is opposed to

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, and

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

Structure

The organization is composed of many groups over the world, including: *July 20 Brigade *International Solidarity *Cooperative of Hand-Made Fire & Related Items *May 22 Group *Iniciativa Anarco-Insurreccionalista de Ofensiva y Solidaridad–Julio Chavez López/Federación Anarquista Informal *Revenge Cell Mikhail Zhlobitsky *Circle of Asymmetric Urban Warfare *Santiago Maldonado cell (named after the Argentine Santiago Maldonado) * Anarchic Cell for Revolutionary Solidarity * Friends of the Earth * Práxedis G. Guerrero Autonomous Cells of Immediate Revolution * Mariano Sánchez Añón Insurrectional Cell These groups represent factions of the FAI. Beyond the organization, each group has also forged its own set of alliances. Due to the organizational nature many of the groups have no materiel connection with each other. In 2012 an official with the

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 ...

ROS claimed that Italian intelligence had located the identities of at least fifty people belonging to the FAI, who are now in hiding.

History

In 2003, the group claimed responsibility for a bomb campaign targeting several

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

institutions. It had stated to target "the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order". To address the situation, an order was issued to halt all packets addressed to EU bodies from post offices in the Emilia-Romagna region. Sources at the prosecutor's office in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

said that the packages mailed to then head of

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important centr ...

Jean-Claude Trichet Jean-Claude Trichet (; born 20 December 1942) is a French economist who served as President of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011. Previous to his assumption of the presidency he served as Governor of the Bank of France from 1993 to 2003 ...

, Europol and

European Commission President The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...

Eurojust Eurojust is an agency of the European Union (EU) dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters among agencies of the member states. It is seated in The Hague, Netherlands. Established in 2002, it was created to improve handling of seriou ...

contained books and photocopies of a leaflet from the Informal Anarchist Federation. The leaflet described the Italian group and talked about its "Operation Santa Claus." After the December attack on the Italian politician Prodi, the FAI sent a letter to ''

La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnol ...

'' newspaper saying it was opposed to the European Union and claiming the attack was carried out "so the pig knows that the maneuvers have only begun to get close to him and others like him." In 2010, Italy’s postal service intercepted a threatening letter containing a bullet addressed to Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

. A large envelope containing a letter addressed to Berlusconi with the threat “you will end up like a rat” was discovered on Friday in a post office in the Libate suburb of the northern city of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. On 9 April 2013 an explosive device was sent by the group to the offices of '' La Stampa''. It did not detonate. On 23 December 2010, credit for exploding parcels delivered to the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome was claimed by the Informal Anarchist Federation, though many news sources erroneously reported that another group, the Italian Anarchist Federation, claimed responsibility for the mail bombs. On 31 March 2011, a mail bomb exploded at the

Olten Olten (High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zürich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub of ...

headquarters of Swissnuclear, the Swiss nuclear industry association, wounding two people. According to prosecutors, a letter delivered with the bomb claimed responsibility on behalf of the FAI. A mail bomb, sent to

Josef Ackermann Josef Meinrad Ackermann (born 7 February 1948) is a Swiss banker, former Chairman of the Bank of Cyprus, and former chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank. He has also been a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, th ...

, chief executive of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, was intercepted on 7 December 2011. On 13 June 2012, the Italian ROS under the name 'Operation ‘Ardire’ conducted raids on forty people, arresting eight in Italy and sending two arrest warrants for individuals already incarcerated in Germany and Switzerland, Gabriel Pombo Da Silva and Marco Camenisch, as well as conducting multiple interrogations, some of which were in connection to

. On the 30 September 2020, The FAI cell ''Nucleus Mikhail Zhlobitsky'' claimed to have sent bombs to Multiple locations across Italy.

Adinolfi shooting

In May 2012, 53 year old Roberto Adinolfi, a CEO of the

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...

company Ansaldo Nucleare was attacked and non-fatally wounded. on Monday 7 May, Adinolfi as he exited his home in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

was shot in the knees by two men wearing helmets on a

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

motorbike. The attackers fired three shots, fracturing Andinolfi's right knee. The action was claimed by a group calling itself '''Olga Cell of the FAI/FRI''' in a four-page communique sent to Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera. The cell takes its name from imprisoned SPF member Olga Ikonomidou, and had claimed several other attacks. The shooting (and continued threats against the Italian state tax collection agency) prompted the Italian Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri to assign 18,000 police officers to security detail following the attack. Two anarchists, Alfredo Cospito, 46 and Nicola Gai, 35 were arrested in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in mid September 2012 for the attack on Adinolfi. Cospito and Gai were sentenced In November 2013 to 10 years 8 months and 9 years, 4 months respectively for the attack which was assigned a terrorism designation by the court.

International activity

Although the Informal Anarchist Federation in Italy has existed for some time, in recent years several groups around the world have used the moniker to claim responsibility for their own attacks on government and corporate targets, including arson in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In May 2012, FAI cells in the UK announced their intention to "paralyze the national economy" during the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. This warning followed an attack by the British based FAI cell May 22 Group on trainlines outside

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

that succeeded in disrupting the rail system, and an arson attack against the Lord Mayor of Bristol,

Geoff Gollop Geoffrey Richard Gollop, OBE (born 23 February 1955)

. On 3 January 2013 an FAI group set fire to a transmitter in Bath, U.K resulting in television and radio outages to 80,000 homes. On 25 November 2014 a group calling itself the F.A.I. Torches in the Night – Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for setting fires that destroyed 5 luxury cars in the Bristol suburb of Long Ashton. On 29 May 2012, four Bolivian youths were arrested in connection with a dynamite attack on a Bolivian military barracks and the bombing of a car dealership throughout May. The FAI claimed responsibility for both incidents. During a security briefing regarding the FAI, an Italian intelligence official cited

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

as other countries in which the FAI was spreading networks into. The similarities in ideology between the Italian FAI and a Mexican group involved in a parcel bombing that seriously injured two nanotechnology researchers has been noted elsewhere. In September 2012, an FAI group in Mexico claimed responsibility for the shooting deaths of three municipal police officers in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. In addition, the Informal Anarchist Federation has ideological ties with Greek anarchist groups. FAI cells have named themselves after Olga Economidou, a currently imprisoned member of

, and Lambros Foundas, a member of Revolutionary Struggle who died in a shoot-out with Greek police in 2010. A document from imprisoned Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei members cites the Italian FAI as an inspiration for their own activity. Consequently, the FAI has praised Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, stating "Conspiracy’s project, like ours, is based on the action and methods of revolutionary violence."

References

External links