Informal Anarchist Federation
Federazione Anarchica Informale
Logo
Founded2003
Founding locationItaly
Years active2003–present
ActivitiesBombings, Arson attacks, Shooting, Sabotage, Vandalism
AlliesConspiracy of Fire Nuclei

The Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI; Italian: Federazione Anarchica Informale) is an insurrectionary anarchist organization.[1] It has been described by Italian intelligence sources as a "horizontal" structure of various anarchist groups, united in their beliefs in revolutionary armed action. Groups and individuals comprising the FAI act both as separate organizations and also under the FAI, and are known to format group campaigns. The FAI notably shares similar aims and ideals with Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (Synomosía ton Pyrínon tis Fotiás, abbrev. SPF),[2] the two often working in solidarity with each other,[3] the SPF being known to announce solidarity with FAI in their communiques.[4] The group has its roots in Italy, but, since 2012, has begun executing attacks in various countries across the world.[3]

Consistent with insurrectionary anarchism, the FAI is opposed to capitalism, nationalism, and Marxism.[3][5]

Structure

The organization is composed of many groups over the world, including:[6]

These groups represent factions of the FAI. Beyond the organization, each group has also forged its own set of alliances.[1] Due to the organizational nature many of the groups have no materiel connection with each other.[18]

In 2012 an official with the carabinieri ROS claimed that Italian intelligence had located the identities of at least fifty people belonging to the FAI, who are now in hiding.[19]

History

In 2003, the group claimed responsibility for a bomb campaign targeting several European Union institutions.[20][21] It had stated to target "the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order". To address the situation, an order was issued to halt all packets addressed to EU bodies from post offices in the Emilia-Romagna region.[22] Sources at the prosecutor's office in Bologna said that the packages mailed to then head of European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet, Europol and European Commission President Romano Prodi Eurojust contained books and photocopies of a leaflet from the Informal Anarchist Federation.[21] The leaflet described the Italian group and talked about its "Operation Santa Claus." After the December attack on the Italian politician Prodi, the FAI sent a letter to La Repubblica newspaper saying it was opposed to the European Union and claiming the attack was carried out "so the pig knows that the maneuvers have only begun to get close to him and others like him."[23]

In 2010, Italy’s postal service intercepted a threatening letter containing a bullet addressed to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.[24] A large envelope containing a letter addressed to Berlusconi with the threat “you will end up like a rat” was discovered on Friday in a post office in the Libate suburb of the northern city of Milan. On 9 April 2013 an explosive device was sent by the group to the offices of La Stampa.[25] It did not detonate.[25] On 23 December 2010, credit for exploding parcels delivered to the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome was claimed by the Informal Anarchist Federation,[26] though many news sources erroneously reported that another group, the Italian Anarchist Federation, claimed responsibility for the mail bombs.[27]

On 31 March 2011, a mail bomb exploded at the Olten headquarters of Swissnuclear, the Swiss nuclear industry association, wounding two people. According to prosecutors, a letter delivered with the bomb claimed responsibility on behalf of the FAI.[28]

A mail bomb, sent to Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, in Frankfurt am Main, was intercepted on 7 December 2011.[29] On 13 June 2012, the Italian ROS under the name 'Operation ‘Ardire’ conducted raids on forty people, arresting eight in Italy and sending two arrest warrants for individuals already incarcerated in Germany and Switzerland, Gabriel Pombo Da Silva and Marco Camenisch, as well as conducting multiple interrogations, some of which were in connection to Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei.[30][31]

On the 30 September 2020, The FAI cell Nucleus Mikhail Zhlobitsky claimed to have sent bombs to Multiple locations across Italy.[32]

Adinolfi shooting

On 7 May 2012, 53-year-old Roberto Adinolfi, CEO of the nuclear power company Ansaldo Nucleare, was attacked and wounded as he left his home in Genoa. He was shot in the knees by two men on a motorbike. The attackers fired three shots, fracturing Adinolfi's right knee.[33] The action was claimed by a group calling itself 'Olga Cell of the FAI/FRI' in a four-page communique sent to Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.[34][35][36] The cell takes its name from imprisoned SPF member Olga Ikonomidou, and had claimed several other attacks.[37] The shooting (and continued threats against the Italian state tax collection agency) prompted the Italian Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri to assign 18,000 police officers to security detail following the attack.[38]

Two anarchists, Alfredo Cospito, 46 and Nicola Gai, 35 were arrested in Turin in mid September 2012 for the attack on Adinolfi.[39] Cospito and Gai were sentenced In November 2013 to 10 years 8 months and 9 years, 4 months respectively for the attack which was assigned a terrorism designation by the court.[40][37]

International activity

Although the Informal Anarchist Federation in Italy has existed for some time, in recent years several groups around the world have used the moniker to claim responsibility for their own attacks on government and corporate targets, including arson in Russia,[41][42] Argentina,[43][44] Indonesia[45] and the United Kingdom.[46] In May 2012, FAI cells in the UK announced their intention to "paralyze the national economy" during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[47] This warning followed an attack by the British based FAI cell May 22 Group on trainlines outside Bristol that succeeded in disrupting the rail system,[9] and an arson attack against the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Geoff Gollop.[48] On 3 January 2013 an FAI group set fire to a transmitter in Bath, U.K resulting in television and radio outages to 80,000 homes.[49][50] On 25 November 2014 a group calling itself the F.A.I. Torches in the Night – Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for setting fires that destroyed 5 luxury cars in the Bristol suburb of Long Ashton.[51][52][53]

On 29 May 2012, four Bolivian youths were arrested in connection with a dynamite attack on a Bolivian military barracks and the bombing of a car dealership throughout May. The FAI claimed responsibility for both incidents.[54]

During a security briefing regarding the FAI, an Italian intelligence official cited Greece, Spain, Mexico and Chile as other countries in which the FAI was spreading networks into.[19] The similarities in ideology between the Italian FAI and a Mexican group involved in a parcel bombing that seriously injured two nanotechnology researchers has been noted elsewhere.[55] In September 2012, an FAI group in Mexico claimed responsibility for the shooting deaths of three municipal police officers in Mexico City.[56][57]

In addition, the Informal Anarchist Federation has ideological ties with Greek anarchist groups. FAI cells have named themselves after Olga Economidou, a currently imprisoned member of Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, and Lambros Foundas, a member of Revolutionary Struggle who died in a shoot-out with Greek police in 2010.[58] A document from imprisoned Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei members cites the Italian FAI as an inspiration for their own activity.[59] Consequently, the FAI has praised Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, stating "Conspiracy’s project, like ours, is based on the action and methods of revolutionary violence."[60]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Terrorist Organization Profiles - START - National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism". Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  2. ↑ "Let's Become Dangerous… for the Diffusion of the Black International". The Anarchist Library. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "A Profile of the Informal Anarchist Federation in Italy". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Our Trials Will Turn Into a Conviction of the State". The Anarchist Library. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Italy: Open Letter To The Anarchist & Anti-Authoritarian Movement (2003)". Anarhija.info. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  6. 1 2 "(((i))) Indymedia Italy". indy media. December 2003. Archived from the original on 21 March 2004. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Marone, Francesco (2 September 2015). "The rise of insurrectionary anarchist terrorism in Italy". Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict. 8 (3): 194–214. doi:10.1080/17467586.2015.1038288. ISSN 1746-7586. S2CID 145354106. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "RAND | NSRD | Projects | RAND Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents". smapp.rand.org. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 "FAI / May 22nd Group claim responsibility for sabotage on Bristol trainlines (UK)". 325.Nostate. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Hallan artefacto explosivo en sucursal bancaria de la colonia Obrera". Excelsior (In Spanish). 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Reivindicación del artefacto explosivo en sucursal bancaria BBVA Bancomer, México". Grupo Bifurcación (In Spanish). 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "Grenade Thrown At Russian Consulate In Greece; No Injuries Reported". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Greek Anarchists Claim Russian Consulate Grenade Blast". Voice of America News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Κύκλος Ασύμμετρου Μητροπολιτικού Πολέμου / FAI-FRI. "Ανάληψη ευθύνης για ωρολογιακό εκρηκτικό μηχανισμό στην πίσω πλευρά της Ευελπίδων". Athens Indymedia. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "Athens, Greece: Explosive Attack Against the Evelpidon Court Complex by Circle of Asymmetric Urban Warfare FAI-FRI |". Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Police learns of bomb explosion after anarchists claims responsibility". Keep Talking Greece. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Anarchists claim Rome bomb". ansa. 7 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  18. ↑ "Meet the Nihilist-Anarchist Network Bringing Chaos to a Town Near You". www.vice.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  19. 1 2 ""Pronti ad azioni da jihad" Il rapporto sugli anarchici". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "Bologna mail blocked after bombs". BBC News. 31 December 2003. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  21. 1 2 "Italy acts over EU letter bombs". CNN. 31 December 2003. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  22. ↑ Sophie =Arie (1 January 2004). "Mail block to catch EU book bombs". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  23. ↑ Thomas Fuller (29 December 2003). "Italy investigates package sent to Prodi as a terrorist attack". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  24. ↑ "DailyTimes - Your Right To Know". Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  25. 1 2 Nataliya Rovenskaya (April 2013). "Anarchists and suspected mafia target Italian media". Committee to Protect Journalists. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  26. ↑ Associated Press. "Rome Embassy Blasts Wound 2; Anarchists Suspected". National Public Radio. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  27. ↑ "Anarchists Claim Responsibility for Pair of Embassy Blasts in Rome". Fox News. Associated Press. 23 December 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  28. ↑ "Anarchist group says behind Swiss parcel bomb". Reuters. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  29. ↑ Anarchist group claims letter bomb: German police Archived 2015-09-12 at the Wayback Machine Reuters. 8 December 2011.
  30. ↑ Italian Police say arrested anarchists for attacks Archived 2021-02-09 at the Wayback Machine Euronews.
  31. ↑ "Anti-terrorist 'operation boldness': Arrests and house searches across Italy". Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  32. ↑ "Pacchi bomba a confindustria Brescia e secondini Modena". 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  33. ↑ "Gunmen On Motorbike Shoot Italian Nuclear Firm CEO". HuffPost. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  34. ↑ "First page of the claim of the nucleus Olga FAI/FRI – Italy". 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  35. ↑ "dalla stampa italiana: testo del Nucleo Olga FAI/FRI – Il marchio della vita". culmine. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  36. ↑ Tom Kington (11 May 2012). "Italian anarchists kneecap nuclear executive and threaten more shootings". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  37. 1 2 Loadenthal, Michael. The Politics of the Attack: A Discourse of Insurrectionary Communiqués (PDF) (Ph.D.). George Mason University. p. 94. ISBN 9781321811629. ProQuest 1695806756.
  38. ↑ "Fearing anarchist attacks, Italy tightens security". Los Angeles Times. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  39. ↑ "Two anarchists arrested for Adinolfi attack". www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  40. ↑ "Anarchists jailed for shooting Ansaldo CEO". The Local. 12 November 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  41. ↑ "Russian anarchists fight capitalism with fire". France24. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  42. ↑ "BITE BACK Magazine". Directaction. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  43. ↑ "Alarma por ataques vandálicos contra vehículos de alta gama". Infobae. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  44. ↑ "Argentina: Claim for arson attacks on luxury vehicles". War on Society. 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  45. ↑ Berger, Dominic. "Indonesia's new anarchists". Inside Indonesia. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  46. ↑ Shiv Malik (25 May 2012). "Anarchists claim responsibility for railway signalling sabotage in Bristol". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  47. ↑ Hannah Furness (27 May 2012). "Anarchist group vows to wage 'low level warfare' on Olympics". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  48. ↑ "Bristol arson attack linked to anarchist terror network". Channel 4 News. 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  49. ↑ "TV and radio blackout to 80,000 homes after transmitter fire". Bristol Post. 3 January 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  50. ↑ "'FAI / ELF New Horizons of Burning Rage' take responsibility for media sabotage (UK)". 325 Nostate. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  51. ↑ "Bristol car fires: Police examine anarchist claims". BBC. 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  52. ↑ "Five cars including Audi, Range Rover and Porsche deliberately set on fire in Bristol". Bristol Post. 26 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  53. ↑ "Revenge4Rémi, StreetFires4NuclearIndustry, PrisonSociety&GreenCapital - UK Indymedia". www.indymedia.org.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  54. ↑ J. R. Castellón. "Detienen a 4 jóvenes por atentado a cajero". La Razón. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  55. ↑ jobs (28 May 2012). "Anarchists attack science". Nature News. 485 (7400): 561. Bibcode:2012Natur.485..561P. doi:10.1038/485561a. PMID 22660296.
  56. ↑ Por Notimex (18 September 2012). "Reportan tres muertos y un policía desaparecido en Valle de Chalco". Periódico Zócalo. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  57. ↑ "Mexico: Responsibility claim for armed attack on a municipal police patrol car in the municipality of Valle de Chalco in EdoMex". Contra info. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  58. ↑ Graham Johnson (1 February 2011). "I(talians) Believe, in Anarchy!". VICE. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  59. ↑ "Fire and Gunpowder: From Indonesia to Chile… A proposition for FAI/IRF (Global)". 325 Nostate. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  60. ↑ Niki Kitsantonis (30 December 2010). "Bomb Blast Damages Athens Court Building". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
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