Solitary confinement in Italy: How an anarchist puts pressure on Meloni

The Italian government has a problem: Alfredo Cospito. The anarchist’s strict solitary confinement has become a political issue after a party friend of Prime Minister Meloni quoted from confidential documents.

Angry young men and women stand in front of the Opera prison in the south of Milan. In chants, they repeatedly demand relief from prison for Alfredo Cospito, who was transferred here a few days ago. Their anger is directed against the state.

The 55-year-old anarchist has been on a hunger strike for more than 100 days in a bid to achieve better prison conditions. Because for Cospito, “Article 41-bis” applies, which provides for extremely strict rules. All of life – including conversations and every moment – is monitored and recorded, all on video, says Daniela De Robert.

The slim woman with the bright face knows her stuff. She regularly visits prisoners. De Robert is a member of the state supervisory body “Garante Nazionale dei diritti delle persone private della libertà personale”. It is a control body for the rights of prisoners.

Many “41-bis prisoners” belong to the mafia

The prisoners within the department cannot meet with everyone. For three hours a day, they can be with a maximum of three other people, according to De Robert. These are selected by the administration. The majority of the approximately 730 prisoners who fall under “Article 41-bis” belong to the mafia.

This special regulation is intended to cut off communication – between the arrested, the accused and the convicted persons as well as their criminal organizations outside and inside the prison, explains De Robert.

International Solidarity of Anarchists

But Cospito is an anarchist and has been in prison for ten years for two attacks. Last year, a bomb attack that caused property damage was classified by the Court of Cassation as an attack on state security. Cospito was placed in solitary confinement.

A fierce political dispute has broken out around the 55-year-old, initially triggered by protests by sympathizers in several countries. In Berlin, anarchists set fire to the car of an Italian diplomat, in Barcelona they smashed windows of the consulate.

Meloni: The state must not allow itself to be blackmailed

In December, the car of an embassy employee in Athens was attacked with Molotov cocktails. The anarchists show solidarity with Cospito, they want to increase the pressure. But Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni swears that the state must not allow itself to be blackmailed. “I believe that the state shouldn’t negotiate with the mafia,” says Meloni. “And neither with someone who threatens him.”

But the Cospito case is putting pressure on her government. Party colleague Giovanni Donzelli from the Fratelli d’Italia and deputy head of the secret service committee divulged sensitive information from wiretapping protocols in prison in parliament.

He detailed how Cospito spoke to Francesco Di Maio of the Casalesi clan on his way to an interview with his lawyer. A few days ago, the Casalesi, a Camorra mafia clan, encouraged Cospito to continue. And the boss of the Casalesi said: “Step by step we will come to the result, i.e. the abolition of the ’41-bis’.”

Donzelli’s resignation demanded

How could Donzelli get hold of the sensitive documents? The opposition followed suit. In the meantime, the public prosecutor’s office has initiated investigations into suspected betrayal of secrets. Donzelli, on the other hand, insinuates that the opposition party has a certain affinity with Cospito and the mafia. Because four MPs from the Social Democrats had visited Cospito in prison, says the politician from the Fratelli d’Italia.

Such visits are routine in Italy, but the scandal heated up. Day after day there is an exchange of blows. Donzelli, according to the demand, must resign as deputy head of the intelligence committee. The party friends are now putting pressure on Meloni, at the weekend she felt compelled to write a letter calling for moderation.

Cospito wants to continue hunger strike

But the anarchist Cospito doesn’t want to give up, as he has repeatedly emphasized. According to De Robert, he does not want to be artificially fed. Should he lose consciousness, that would of course be a complex matter. The state must ask itself how it protects the people who are entrusted to it. Cospito is not a free person who can do what he wants, but is entrusted to the state, says De Robert.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has until February 12 to decide on Cospito’s lawyer’s application for revocation, and two weeks later the appeal hearing at the highest court is due. Cospito’s followers fear: Then it could be too late.