Italy’s government has beefed up security at its diplomatic missions around the world in response to a “crescendo of terrorist attacks” by an informal anarchist network acting in solidarity with a detained Italian militant, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cited nearly a dozen attacks since late November, ranging from vandalism to explosive devices, that have damaged Italian diplomatic targets in Argentina, Bolivia, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. No injuries were reported.
“It is clear that there is international solidarity (among the anarchists) and therefore an attack against Italy, against Italian institutions, is taking place all over the world,” Tajani said, adding that security had been increased at all Italian embassies and consulates. as well as the Foreign Office.
Tajani said they believe the network includes both Italians and anarchists from other countries acting in concert. He referred to graffiti scrawled in Catalan on the building that houses the Italian consulate in Barcelona.
The most serious of the attacks was the firebombing of two cars at an Italian diplomat’s residence in Athens in early December — one car was set on fire, and Tajani said only the damage from the second bomb, which targeted a car in the residence’s garage and in proximity to a gas pipeline prevented worse consequences.
Italian authorities have stepped up security at their diplomatic mission because of the terrorist attacks. AP representatives believe that the terrorist network includes both Italians and foreign anarchists. AP
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The attacks and protests are in solidarity with militant Alfredo Cospito, who shot dead an energy executive and set off a series of dynamite attacks. AP
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The attacks, as well as a series of protests, including one planned for Tuesday in Madrid, are in solidarity with Alfredo Cospito, who has been on hunger strike since October to protest the harsh prison regime reserved for terrorists and mobsters. The 55-year-old militant is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting a state-owned energy executive in the leg and 20 years for a series of dynamite attacks in Italy.
Last spring, an appeals court in Turin tightened his prison terms to include solitary confinement, except for one hour a day and a strict limit on family visits. The regime is imposed on prisoners deemed to be a danger even from inside the prison.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the fact of the attacks only reinforced the regime’s need in Cospito’s case.
Cospito’s lawyers are currently appealing the strict terms.
Meanwhile, Cospito was moved from Sardinia to a prison south of Milan, which Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said was best equipped to deal with the health challenges of the hunger strike.
In Italy, anarchists on Monday set fire to cars belonging to the telecommunications company TIM, scrawling nearby slogans condemning Cospito’s treatment. This weekend, a small group of his supporters clashed with police in Rome and two incendiary devices were thrown into the parking lot of a police station in the capital. No one was injured.
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