Crosetto calls for hard line after anarchist riot in Turin

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 5 - Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Sunday that a hard line was needed after anarchists rioted in Turin on Saturday, leaving two police officers injured and massive damage in the northern city.
    A total of 37 people were detained in relation to the disturbances on Saturday, before being subsequently released, and hundreds of people who took part have been identified, including people from Germany and France.
    They were protesting in support of Alfredo Cospito, the jailed leader of the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI) who has been on hunger strike since October to protest against the tough 41 bis prison regime usually reserved for mafia bosses that he is being held under.
    The windows and windscreens of many cars, shops and banks were smashed and graffiti was daubed over the walls of buildings for stretches of several hundred metres.
    Paint was also thrown at the Santuario della Madonna Consolata (the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of the Consolation), one of Turin's holiest sites.
    "Criminal vandals, so-called anarchists, brought guerilla warfare to Turin yesterday," Crosetto said via Twitter.
    "They destroyed shops, splattered paint over walls, used violence on people and property.
    "You don't negotiate with people like this. They must be stopped, judged and punished". (ANSA).