Franco Freda | |
|---|---|
 Freda in 1976 | |
| Born | (1941-02-11)11 February 1941 (age 85) |
| Organization | Ordine Nuovo |
| Known for | Nazi-Maoism,Piazza Fontana bombing (disputed) |
Franco "Giorgio"Freda (born 11 February 1941) is a prominentneo-Fascist figure in post-war Italy. His views have been described asneo-Nazi,Nazi-Maoist andanti-Semitic.[1][2][3] He founded a publishing house dedicated tofar-right extremism and described himself as an admirer of Hitler. In 1981, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "subversive association" in connection with a series of bomb attacks. Although initially convicted of involvement in the 1969Piazza Fontana bombing, he was later acquitted due to lack of evidence.[4][5][6] In 2005 the Court of Cassation found him responsible for the Piazza Fontana bombing, but he could not be prosecuted due to his previous acquittal.[7] In 1990 he founded theFronte Nazionale, which wasdisbanded by the Italian government in 2000 when Freda and forty-eight other members were found guilty of attempting to re-establish theNational Fascist Party.
Freda was born inPadua, Italy. He began his political career as the leader of the FUAN-Caravella of Padua (the undergraduates association of theItalian Social Movement) when he was a law student. In 1963, he founded the Group of Ar, based on the philosophy ofJulius Evola, and managed afar-right library. Later, when the Group of Ar was disbanded, he founded theEdizioni di Ar (Ar Publishing), a publishing house that brought out books byTraditionalist figures like Evola andRené Guenon.Edizioni di Ar is still active today and continues to offer philosophical and political contemporary far-right essays, as well as reissuing books by nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers likeArthur de Gobineau,Oswald Spengler,Friedrich Nietzsche, andAlfred Baeumler.[8]
In 1969, Freda publishedThe Disintegration of the System, which became an important text for the Italian far-right.[9] In this book, Freda broke with the classicalanticommunist stance of the far-right and proposed a strategic alliance between the far-left and the far-right to subvertcapitalist society. Freda's approach ideologically justified the merging of ultra-radicals from opposite flanks in a common struggle against the Western liberal state andSoviet communism, which was also opposed by Mao's regime in China.[10] He also began to criticise theMSI leadership, accusing it of compromising with the "agonizing democracy of the Republic". This position, along with the proposal of a hierarchical, collectivist State which found its roots explicitly inPlato, earned him the title of "Nazi-Maoist". Freda's ideology influenced many 1970s far-right Italian groups, such as the Lotta di Popolo andTerza Posizione.[11][12]
Freda called himself a "scholar of ethnicity" and proposed the principles of a "morphologicalracism". He also described himself as an admirer ofHitler. After contacts withPino Rauti, he participated in the activities ofOrdine Nuovo, even though he never formally joined the movement. From 1971 onwards, he was put on trial several times, notably for his alleged involvement in thePiazza Fontana bombing. Despite his eventual acquittal due to lack of evidence, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for subversive association. In 1990, he founded the far-right movementFronte Nazionale and began publishing the journalL'Antibancor, about economical and financial studies.[13]
The Fronte Nazionale, which opposed bothglobalization andmulticultural society, was disbanded by the Italian government in 2000, on the grounds of theMancino law. Freda and 48 other members were found guilty of "reconstruction of the Fascist party" (which is illegal in Italy). Freda is still present in the far-right scene as an ideologue and publisher, although public appearances and writings are rare.[citation needed]
On 3 March 1972, Freda, his friendGiovanni Ventura [it], andPino Rauti, anItalian Social Movement organiser and founder of the far-right movementOrdine Nuovo, were arrested. They were accused of having planned the 25 April 1969 terrorist attacks at theMilan Fair and Railway Station, and of several other attacks on trains carried out on 8 and 9 August of the same year. Freda and Ventura were later accused of involvement in thePiazza Fontana bombing. Investigators gave several reasons they believed the pair were involved:[14]
In 1974, the trial was moved fromMilan toCatanzaro. On 4 October 1978 the police discovered that Freda had disappeared from the Catanzaro apartment where he had been staying. On 23 February 1979 he was found guilty for the Piazza Fontana bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment. On 23 August 1979, Freda was arrested inCosta Rica and extradited to Italy. Several more trials followed. On 20 March 1981, Freda was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "subversive association", as he was held responsible for a series of bombings,[15][16] but his life sentence for the Piazza Fontana bombing was overturned on 1 August 1985 for lack of evidence. Ventura's sentence was also overturned. In 1987, the Supreme Court of Cassation acquitted Freda and Ventura of the Piazza Fontana bombing for lack of evidence, but Freda's 15-year prison sentence for other related charges was upheld.[17] Freda claimed the 15-year sentence was a "badge of honour".[16][18]
In the 1990s, new investigations into Piazza Fontana were made. Investigators have claimed that due to new witnesses they believe Freda and Ventura were involved in the terrorist attack. The pair cannot be put on trial again as they were acquitted of the crime in 1987.[17][14] In a 2004 trial of neo-fascists, the Milan Court of Appeal attributed the bombing to Freda and Ventura.[14] In 2005, the Court of Cassation established Freda's responsibility for the bombing, as well as that of Giovanni Ventura. Because of their previous acquittal in 1987, they could not be prosecuted, but the court deemed it legitimate to use evidence against them in trials of other defendants, confirming their role in the attack.[7][19][20]
