Photo by Comunità delle Piagge
The Italian pacifist Turi Vaccaro, known for his ascetic lifestyle and numerous barefoot and silent protests against war, was arrested and again imprisoned on December 2, 2021. When last released from prison in April, 2020, the anti-war activist anticipated his eventual return to jail “because I’ll break some law to stop the war.”
His repeated acts of principled noncooperation with war making, police and the courts led to his being apprehended that day at the train station in Florence. Authorities said that he still had five months left to serve from earlier convictions, plus two more months for good measure. His most recent arrests were during widespread protests of the American-run MUOS military satellite ground station in Sicily.
Friends concerned over the 72-year-old activist’s declining health arranged for Vaccaro to serve any remaining sentence with the Comunità delle Piagge in Florence, and he was released there on July 25, 2022.
You can read earlier Nuclear Resister coverage of Turi Vaccaro’s actions and imprisonments here: