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Hunger Strike of Anarchists and Fighting Prisoners in Solidarity with Alfredo Cospito (Greece, February 16, 2023)

Hunger Strike of Anarchists and Fighting Prisoners in Solidarity with Alfredo Cospito

The 41 bis prison regime is the completion of the prison structure into a masqueraded death sentence. The execution, in this case, does not end in one moment, like with a gunshot, the tightening of the noose, the application of electrical current or the injection of poison into the body, rather it lasts a lifetime in a state of social coma, in a state of non-world. And so, spread through time. Out of this world, the death sentence has evaded history, just like the state pursues oblivion for all the prisoners of the social war who are buried alive in the state of 41 bis. The 41 bis regime has already murdered one fighter, Diana Blefari Melazzi.

The 41 bis regime and the law about “massacre” are the legacy of the European counter-revolution from the time of Piazza Fontana (strage di piazza Fontana). This civil war never ended. The states, and particularly the Italian one, carry on the counter-revolution so that the flame may never flare up again. All the systems follow, step by step, the examples first introduced as special warfare, e.g. the white cells of West Germany, the F-type prisons in Turkey and the FIES prisons in Spain to the Type-C prisons in Greece or the new high security prison system A.A.; the still active Hitler-inspired law about indefinite extension of one’s sentence on “preventative” grounds, by which comrade Thomas Meyer-Falk is being held for another 10 years (25 in total) in Freiburg prison in Germany, to the different methods of extorting declarations of repentance, and from Asinara to Imrali.

Anarchist Alfredo Cospito is fighting for the flame to flare up again. Let’s reassert the fight of the comrade.

It is our duty to defend in deed the battle that Alfredo Cospito is fighting. A struggle for and against time itself. This particular hunger strike does not concern only the comrades in the Italian territory, but it is internationalist, and so the star of internationalist solidarity must shine on the side of Alfredo Cospito and all those who are fighting from within a special prison regime. From Greece to every point in the planet – for all those fighting for freedom.

Because defeat is not captivity, but losing one’s faith in the possibility of wining. So, we are collectively going on a hunger strike, according to each one’s capacity, so that we may stand by the side of anarchist revolutionary Alfredo Cospito, but also, against the death regime of 41 bis.

At the same time the struggle against the new prison code in Greek prisons is continuing.

Anarchist and Fighting Prisoners

Giannis Michailidis
(1 day hunger strike)

Dimitris Chatzivasileiadis
(3 day hunger strike)

Thanos Chatziangelou
(1 day hunger strike)

Iasonas Rodopoulos
(1 day hunger strike)

Kostas Dimalexis
(3 day hunger strike)

Labros Vougiouklakis
(1 day hunger strike)

Panagiotis Vougiouklakis
(1 day hunger strike)

Stathis Nikolouzos
(1 day hunger strike)

Stergios Kalaitzidis
(1 day hunger strike)

Fotis Daskalas
(1 day hunger strike)

Update about the health condition of Alfredo Cospito on the 119th day of hunger strike (Italy, February 15, 2023)

In recent weeks, a mass-media campaign of slander and denigration has been underway against anarchist comrade Alfredo Cospito. Various newspapers have given much prominence to the fact that in the last few days the comrade had started taking supplements again and that he had eaten two yogurts [in the past months, the comrade had at times taken extremely mild supplements, which he had stopped taking for some time, only to try to resume them in the last few days along with the yogurts so as to try to remain lucid in view of the hearing on February 24th in the cassation court, for which the prosecutor general has filed a request to overturn the 41 bis measure]. Today’s news [February 15th] is that Alfredo’s body, now after too many days of hunger strike, has rejected both these two yogurts and the supplements, contrary to mass-media reports: what he is currently taking is only sugar, salt and potassium. This is dramatic news both with regard to the comrade’s possibility of making it to February 24th alive (the day on which the hearing for the appeal against the order of the surveillance court of Rome that confirmed detention under 41 bis will be held at the cassation court), and with regard to his ability to resume feeding himself following a possible revocation of the 41 bis order.

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Updates about the transfer of Alfredo Cospito to the San Paolo hospital and on the prosecutor general’s request to overturn the 41 bis measure in view of the cassation hearing of February 24 (Italy)

We publish two important updates concerning the transfer, which took place on February 11th, of anarchist comrade Alfredo Cospito to the San Paolo hospital and the request for annulment of the 41 bis measure by the prosecutor general at the Court of Cassation in view of the hearing to be held on February 24th at the Cassation itself following the appeal against the order of the Surveillance Court of Rome which, with the hearing of December 1st, confirmed detention under 41 bis.

We recall that on February 9th the minister of justice Carlo Nordio announced the rejection of the formal request for revocation of the 41 bis that had been made by the comrade’s lawyer. This was despite the opinion of the Direzione Nazionale Antimafia e Antiterrorismo (DNAA, ‘National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate’), which, responding to the minister who was gathering the opinions of various repressive bodies, had said it was in favour of maintaining the 41 bis or alternatively of transferring him to Alta Sicurezza 2 (AS2, ‘High Security 2’, high security sections intended mainly for anarchists and communists). Therefore, currently, as far as the revocation of the 41 bis is concerned, the only pronouncement expected is that of the Court of Cassation (which is only in Rome) with the hearing on February 24th.

Revolutionary solidarity with Alfredo Cospito and all imprisoned anarchists and revolutionaries! Alfredo out from 41 bis!

Alfredo Cospito transferred from Opera prison to San Paolo hospital (Milan, February 11, 2023)

On February 11th, the 115th day of hunger strike against 41 bis prison regime and life imprisonment without possibility of parole, anarchist Alfredo Cospito was transferred from Opera prison (where he had been an imprisoned since January 30th in the Servizio di Assistenza Intensificata, SAI, Intensified Assistance Service) to the San Paolo hospital (also located in Milan), in one of the rooms reserved for prisoners on 41 bis in the prison medicine ward. The transfer was ordered by the Department of Penitentiary Administration following the indications of the doctors. The comrade, according to February 11th, weighs 71 kg (the starting weight at the beginning of the hunger strike was 115 kg) and is in extremely critical health condition. As reported by the doctor who examined the comrade in the morning: ‘he is at risk of cerebral oedema and potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias’.

Regarding the prosecutor general’s request to overturn the 41 bis measure against Alfredo Cospito in view of the cassation hearing of February 24

The Agnelli family’s [multi-industry business dynasty founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the FIAT motor company which became Italy’s largest automobile manufacturer] newspapers (‘La Repubblica’ and ‘La Stampa’) revealed in this morning’s (February 12th) edition that the prosecutor general at the Court of Cassation had filed a request for the overturn of the 41 bis measure against Alfredo Cospito in view of the hearing on February 24th in Rome. This is undoubtedly good news, but it should not be overestimated. Naturally because as anarchists we have no faith in bourgeois justice, specifically because it is not uncommon for the cassation to take more radical decisions than those requested by the prosecution itself.

Finally, we cannot forget that Alfredo’s health situation is very serious and that February 24th may be too far away, which could turn out to be a terrible hoax.

We persevere in our claim for an immediate declassification of our comrade, convinced that any outcome will depend solely on the struggle to the last breath that Alfredo has put up and on the international solidarity movement that has been expressed.