The Italian government has beefed up the security of its diplomatic missions around the world in response to “a crescendo of terrorist attacks” by an informal anarchist network acting in solidarity with a jailed Italian militant, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani named nearly a dozen attacks since late November, ranging from vandalism to explosive devices, causing damage to Italian diplomatic targets in Argentina, Bolivia, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. No injuries were reported.
“It is evident that there is international solidarity (among anarchists) and therefore there is an attack on Italy and Italian institutions worldwide,” Tajani said, adding that security is being increased in all Italian embassies and consulates, as well as the foreign ministry.
Tajani said they believe the network includes both Italians and anarchists from other countries acting together. He pointed to graffiti scrawled in Catalan on the building of the Italian consulate in Barcelona.
The most serious of the attacks was the arson attack on two cars at the residence of an Italian diplomat in Athens in early December – one car was set on fire and Tajani said only the failure of the second bomb, which was aimed at a car in the residence’s garage, and near a gas line prevented worse consequences.
Italian officials increased security at their diplomatic mission over terrorist attacks. AP
Officials believe the terror network includes both Italian 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 and a series of protests, including a planned Tuesday in Madrid, are in solidarity with Alfredo Cospito, who has been on a hunger strike since October to protest a harsh prison regime reserved for terrorists and mafiosi. The 55-year-old militant is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting an energy manager at a state-controlled company in the leg and 20 years for a series of dynamite attacks in Italy.
An appeals court in Turin last spring tightened its prison terms, including solitary confinement except for one hour a day and strict limits on family visits. The regime is imposed on prisoners who are seen as a danger even within prison.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the fact of the attacks only reinforces the regime’s need in the Cospito case.
Cospito’s lawyers are currently appealing against the strict conditions.
Meanwhile, Cospito has been transferred from Sardinia to a prison south of Milan which Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said is the best equipped to deal with the health challenges of the hunger strike.
In Italy on Monday, anarchists set fire to cars owned by telecommunications company TIM and scrawled slogans denouncing the treatment of Cospito nearby. 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. Nobody was injured.