Kissing Alfredo Cospito on the cheeks is prohibited, the anarchist detained in Bancali under the 41 bis regime. The gesture earned a report to the Bar Association by the director of the prison for Flavio Rossi Albertini, the lawyer of the 58-year-old who, for six months, from 2022 to 2023, was the protagonist of a hunger strike. In reality, a lawyer from Sassari, Maria Teresa Pintus, who also assists the prisoner, had also been the subject of the same complaint much earlier, for the same reasons and by the same director in 2024.
In the report sent to the Order, it is emphasized that the lawyer with Cospito "has adopted the greeting with a kiss on the cheeks in addition to the handshake". "Taking into account the criminal caliber of the subjects detained in the 41 bis section of this institute - we read in the communication sent on 16 September 2024 by the director - and the intrinsic meaning that this greeting may have, we ask to evaluate whether the lawyer's behavior is ethically correct, also in order to give the appropriate instructions to the Penitentiary Police staff who with selflessness and professionalism ensure the supervision of the prisoners subjected to the regime referred to in art. 41 bis".
"The kiss on the cheek - the lawyer replies - is nothing more than the most popular greeting in the Western world and is a simple gesture of respect but far from the illegal meaning that they want to give it". Among other things, Pintus points out that "this type of greeting has been used with all of Cospito's defenders, men and women alike, even in the past when he was held in other penitentiary institutions". But it is not allowed with Bancali.