Court rules Cospito must remain in 41 bis jail regime

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 27 - A Milan court on Monday rejected a petition by hunger-striking jailed anarchist Alfredo Cospito for him to be released from the tough 41 bis prison regime he is being held under.
    As a result Cospito, who is in poor health after being on hunger strike since October, will remain under the 41 bis regime in a protected ward of Milan's San Paolo hospital.
    His lawyers said he suffered transient cardiac arrest last week.
    The court refused to commute Cospito's term to house arrest or permanent custody in hospital.
    It is the latest in a series of unsuccessful legal petitions against the 41 bis made by Cospito.
    Indeed, a court in the Sardinian city of Sassari on Monday rejected a separate appeal for him to be put under house arrest.
    The 41 bis is usually reserved for mafia convicts.
    The 55-year-old wants it to be abolished for all inmates.
    Cospito is being held in relation to separate convictions for a bomb attack on a Carabinieri police training academy in Piedmont in 2006 and for a kneecapping attack in 2012.
    His supporters have embarked on a wave of threats, acts of vandalism and violent protests, including rioting in Turin in early March. (ANSA).