(Switzerland), March 2023. Cospito was moved into the restrictive
41-bis prison regime in Bancali prison in
Sassari by the order of then
Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia in May 2022. He was the first anarchist to be put into 41-bis. Cospito commented "In addition to life imprisonment, given that from prison I continued to write and collaborate with the anarchist press, it was decided to shut my mouth forever with 41-bis". On 20 October 2022, Cospito began a
hunger strike against the conditions of the 41-bis regime, losing almost 50 kg by 9 February. More than 200 criminal lawyers and jurists signed a petition condemning the judicial treatment of Cospito. In protest, anarchist groups held demonstrations in Bologna, Turin and Rome. At the start of December a Greek anarchist group called Revenge Cell Carlo Giuliani (named after
Carlo Giuliani who was killed by police during the
2001 Genoa G8 summit), set alight two empty cars of senior Italian diplomat Susanna Schlein within the garage of her private residences, leading to an unusually large media and political interest. The alleged perpetrators released a communique five days later via Athens
indymedia. The communique cited the reasons around Cospito's protest against the 41-bis regime, stating "The 41 bis is a regime of political, social and sensory extermination, aimed at the complete elimination of all contact with the outside world. Comrades, no matter how much they try to bury you, we will never forget you" as well as critiquing the migration and asylum policies of the
Meloni government. There have also been attacks on Italian diplomatic offices in Argentina, Bolivia, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. In response,
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani claimed that an international anarchist network was carrying out an "attack against Italy, against Italian institutions", while
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi repeated the need for the 41-bis regime. Incarcerated anarchists Anna Beniamino, Juan Sorroche, and Ivan Alocco began hunger strikes in solidarity with Alfredo. Beniamino, incarcerated in
Rebibbia Prison in Rome, ended her strike after 37 days saying "I've reached my objective, to get people talking about Alfredo Cospito's condition." A political scandal developed when
Giovanni Donzelli, coordinator of the ruling
Brothers of Italy party, announced in the
Chamber of Deputies that Cospito was being manipulated by incarcerated mafia members and criticised members of the
Democratic Party for meeting with him. Donzelli had been leaked a video of Cospito in prison by his flatmate
Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove who is the Justice Minister's state secretary. The Democratic Party called for both men to resign and
Giorgia Meloni (
Prime Minister and leader of the Brothers of Italy) called for calm. The Supreme Court of Cassation set a date to hear his appeal against the 41-bis regime on 20 April 2023, then brought it forward to 24 February when Cospito's doctor and lawyer argued he would be dead by April. At the end of January, Cospito was moved from Sardinia to in Milan on account of his deteriorating health. In February, Minister of Justice
Carlo Nordio said he refused the appeal of Cospito's lawyer. The
Court of Cassation then rejected Cospito's appeal against the imposition of 41-bis. The National Bioethics Committee said it would continue to consider whether Cospito could refuse treatment. After his appeal was rejected, Cospito was returned from the San Paolo hospital to the Opera prison's medical department, where he declared his intention to cease taking
dietary supplements. During an announcement by Cospito's lawyers that they were planning an appeal to the
European Court of Human Rights, they published a letter from Cospito in which he proclaimed his willingness to die in order to "let the world know what the 41 bis really is". Cospito's lawyer reported in March 2023 that while waiting on an appeal to be transferred to
house arrest, Cospito had suffered a
cardiac arrest, his condition stabilizing after receiving an injection of
potassium. This report was played down by both the court and the medical staff at the hospital. The supervisory courts of Milan and Sassari rejected the request for house arrest; judges cited "the obvious danger" of releasing Cospito. On 18 April 2023, the
Constitutional Court ruled in favour of allowing the reduction of Cospito's sentence. The following day, Cospito announced that he was stopping his hunger strike after 180 days, having lost 50 kg. In June 2023, the Turin Court of Assizes reduced the sentence on Cospito regarding the
Fossano bombing from life imprisonment to 23 years. Cospito commented in court "There is no evidence that we placed the bombs in Fossano [...] Anarchists do not make indiscriminate massacres, because anarchists are not the state". Two anarchists, Alessandro 'Sandrone' Mercogliano and Sara Ardizzone, were killed in an explosives accident in March 2026, bringing Cospito back into the press.
La Repubblica noted ideological, personal and organizational links between the trio as well as Ardizzone being a previous co-defendant of Cospito in the Sibilia investigation. Other outlets claimed the explosives were intended as a solidarity action for Cospito. ==Selected works==