Two Italian anarchists,
Anna Beniamino and Silvia Ruggeri, on hunger strike for nearly a
month, have now been joined by six more comrades in prisons across
the country. Their hunger strike calls for an end to the notorious
41bis political prisoner regime in Italy, and for the closure of the
infamous L’Aquila prison.

Anna was arrested as
part of “Scripta Manent”, one of the largest political
infiltration operations in Italy this century, and aimed at
curtailing the activities of the FAI (Informal Anarchist Federation).
Silvia was arrested during the eviction of the Turin Asylum Social
Centre, occupied since 1995 and targeted earlier this year for
eviction specifically by Italian Interior Minister and leader of the
Lega political party, Matteo Salvini, in his attempt to crack down on
Italy’s strong anarchist and left-wing political culture.

Section 41bis,
originally introduced in 1975 in response to the mass imprisonment of
communist and anarchist political activists, before being expanded to
include Mafiosi and other organised criminals in 1992, has been long
criticised as tantamount to torture. The “hard time” it imposes
includes strict restrictions on books, clothing,
searches at every entrance and exit from the cell, isolation, only
two hours of (alone) time outside each day, strict limits on contact
with family and friends, light adjustments and other forms of
psychological mistreatment by prison guards. In 2007 an American
judge refused extradition to Italy on the grounds that exposure to
the 41bis regime amounted to torture.

In response to their
hunger strike, there have been numerous demonstrations and political
occupations across the country. In Bologna on 17 June the historic
Asinelli tower was occupied in solidarity, while in L’Aquila itself
the Town Hall was occupied. There are more demonstrations planned
across the country. Italian rapper Massimo Pericolo has also offered
his support in a video on YouTube.

We have reproduced Anna
and Silvia’s original statement below.

Statement of Anna
and Silvia on their decision to go on hunger strike

We have now been
confined for nearly two months in the women’s AS2 [1] section of
L’Aquila prison. Both here and outside, the conditions of detention
resulting from a regime bearing all the hallmarks of a softened 41bis
[2] are well known.

We are convinced that
no improvement can or should be sought, and not only because of
objective and structural problems with the yellow section (formerly
41bis): the entire prison is almost exclusively allocated to the
41bis regime, and enlarging its maze of sections a little appears to
us in bad taste and impractical, given the even more oppressive
conditions endured a few steps from here, nor can we avoid thinking
of the many who have fought for years, accumulating criminal records
and prosecutions. To this can be added the ham-fisted attempt by the
DAP [3] to make ends meet by establishing a mixed Anarcho-Islamic
section, which resulted only on a further ban on assembly or
interaction in the section itself, leading to a state of isolation
that persists even now. There of course exist conditions of
incarceration, whether standard or exceptional, even worse than those
we find in L’Aquila. But this is no reason for us not to oppose
those that are imposed on us here.

WE WILL NO LONGER EAT
OF THIS BREAD.

On 29 May 2019 we will
start a hunger strike, asking to be transferred from this prison and
the closure of this infamous section.

————-

In solidarity with Anna
and Silvia another six anarchist prisoners (Alfredo, Giovanni, Leo,
Luca, Marco and Vespertino) have joined the hunger strike.

[1] ‘Alta sicurezza
2’ – the high security section of Italian prisons dedicated to
those who “have committed crimes with the goal of terrorism,
national or international, or of subverting the democratic order
through acts of violence”
http://www.antigone.it/quattordicesimo-rapporto-sulle-condizioni-di-detenzione/circuiti-e-regimi-detentivi/.

[2] A section of the
Italian constitution specifying the treatment of political prisoners
and prisoners suspected of involvement in organised crime. It places
extensive limitations on the rights of the prisoner, and has been
considered torture by many experts.

[3] Dipartimento
dell’amministrazione penitenziaria, the equivalent of the HMPS in
the UK.