Turin: Askatasuna social centre evicted

Squatters accuse mayor of retreating from collaboration agreement following Gaza protests

~ Cristina Sykes ~

The Askatasuna social centre in Turin, Italy was evicted early this morning, bringing to an end nearly 30 years of occupation. The operation involved the DIGOS political police and armoured vehicles, with several streets sealed off. Police entered the four-storey former municipal building building early in the morning to carry out searches and then sealed the premises. According to activists, six people were inside the building at the time of the raid. The homes of around ten activists linked to the centre and to student collectives were raided at the same time, in connection with recent Palestine solidarity protests including an action at the headquarters of arms manufacturer Leonardo. 

During the day police used a water cannon to disperse a growing crowd of supporters who had gathered outside the building, while traffic in the area was blocked and at least one nearby tram line suspended. Two schools in the surrounding area were reportedly closed on the orders of the prefecture.

The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, said the city had withdrawn from a “collaboration pact” with Askatasuna that had been in place since early 2024, when the municipal council formally recognised the occupied building as a “common good” and began a process towards shared management. The mayor’s office stated that inspections by public security authorities had found violations of the conditions of the agreement.

Activists and solidarity groups dispute this account, arguing that the police operation and the withdrawal of the pact unfolded on parallel tracks and that pressure from the national government played a decisive role — similarly to the eviction of Milan’s Leoncavallo social centre earlier this year. Several statements described the eviction as a politically motivated act aimed at weakening social movements, in particular those involved in organising protests against the war in Gaza and Italy’s role in international military alliances.

Askatasuna, whose name means “freedom” in Basque, has been a central reference point for the city’s autonomous and radical left since 1996. Over the years it hosted political assemblies, cultural events, concerts and community services, including housing advice, children’s activities and mutual aid projects. The centre was also closely involved in major protest cycles in Turin, from the No TAV movement in the Susa Valley to anti-war and anti-fascist mobilisations.

Within hours of the eviction, dozens of organisations across Italy issued statements of solidarity, including trade unions, student groups and networks of social centres. Many framed the operation as part of a broader tightening of public order policies under the far-right-led government of Giorgia Meloni. A joint statement from social centres in north-eastern Italy described the Turin operation as an “exemplary act” designed to intimidate and warned that autonomous spaces were increasingly being treated as targets of repression.

Machine-assisted edit. Photos: GlobalProject, Radio Onda d’Urto

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