Cospito Appeal on 41 Bis Regime Rejected by European Court

Rome: Anarchist leader Alfredo Cospito’s appeal against his stringent ’41 bis’ prison regime has been deemed manifestly unfounded by the European Court of Human Rights. The court also dismissed the argument that the regime should be revoked on health grounds.

According to Ansa News Agency, the ECHR judges concluded that the Italian authorities provided sufficient evidence to justify imposing Article 41 bis on Cospito. This decision also considered the regime’s compatibility with Cospito’s deteriorating health, following his hunger strike.

Cospito, aged 58, has been convicted of several serious crimes. In June 2023, the Turin Court of Assizes of Appeal revised his sentence to 23 years for bombing a Carabinieri school in Fossano, Piedmont, on June 2, 2006. Cospito, affiliated with the Informal Anarchist Federation – International Revolutionary Front, is serving a total 30-year sentence under the 41 bis regime for both the Fossano bombing, which injured two Carabinieri, and kneecapping a nuclear company executive in 2012, for which he received a 10-year sentence.

In April 2023, Cospito halted a hunger strike he had initiated on October 20, 2022, in protest against his prison conditions, which are typically reserved for Mafia bosses. This followed the Constitutional Court’s decision that prevented his sentence from being converted to life imprisonment for the attack on the Carabinieri cadet school.

Cospito’s appeals for release from the 41 bis regime, which enforces near-total isolation from the outside world, have been rejected by Justice Minister Carlo Nordio and the courts. His campaign against the regime, not only for himself but also for other prisoners under it, including mafiosi, has incited anarchists in Italy and abroad to engage in violent protests and arson attacks in solidarity.