Autistici/Inventati solidarity statement

Autistici/Inventati Collective Sanctioned by the U.S. Government

Since its founding, the “Union for Rights of Prisoners” has been using the mail server of the Italian hacktivist collective Autistici/Inventati (A/I). This is over now. Autistici/Inventati has been sanctioned by the U.S. as a “specially designated global terrorist”. This led to the blocking of all of the internet services and accounts provided by the collective.

What is Autistici/Inventati?

Autistici/Inventati was founded in 2001 as one of the first alternative Internet initiatives. The collective offered free, secure solutions for email addresses, websites, mailing lists, blogs, and other forms of communication; the platform noblogs.org was used particularly extensively. A/I sees itself as an anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-militarist organisation that opposes capitalism and authoritarianism.

Why is the U.S. government sanctioning Autistici/Inventati?

The U.S. State Department describes A/I as “an extremist group that builds and operates the digital infrastructure for violent Antifa cells and other militant left-wing extremists worldwide.” The official statement continues: “A/I’s group of radical hackers and technical experts offers a comprehensive range of services to Marxist, anarchist, and other far-left groups in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.” Several organisations accused of violent activism are named, including some pro-Palestinian groups and the PKK.

What are the specific effects of the sanctions?

First and foremost, U.S. sanctions result in the freezing of all assets in the United States, a measure that is likely of relatively little significance to A/I. U.S. organisations and citizens are also prohibited from conducting transactions with the sanctioned organisation. For this reason, A/I’s servers are likely no longer accessible. This is because A/I’s domain (.org) is registered in the U.S., and the necessary technological and financial services are also provided there.

In addition, the State Department has threatened so-called “secondary sanctions,” which can be imposed through financial institutions outside the U.S. This threat likely led the Italian “Banca etica” to freeze A/I’s account as a preemptive measure.

Finally, civil and criminal consequences have been announced for individuals inside and outside the U.S. who violate the sanctions.

Overall, the sanctions against A/I are part of the rapidly escalating, global repression by the Trump administration against left-wing activists, organisations, and governments. At the same time, this is yet another case of U.S. extraterritorial jurisdiction that clearly violates international law, the most dramatic examples of which are the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro and the blockade of Cuba through the threat of punitive tariffs.

Why This Concerns Us All

The “Union for Prisoners’ Rights” is likely one of the many organisations that have used A/I without being designated as a direct threat by the U.S. State Department. Yet these sanctions concern us all, because our infrastructure is at stake. It’s not just that specific tools we rely on for our work were taken away from us overnight; it’s that we must maintain, rebuild, and protect our digital infrastructure. The sanctions against A/I are a clear sign that we must expand our technological expertise and capabilities in order to remain able to work and fight.

Our unconditional solidarity with autistici/inventati is therefore based not only on our deep respect and gratitude for the work of the A/I collective, but also on the conviction that this solidarity is of vital importance for the left worldwide.

Our New Email Address

is urvg@proton.me.

We made a decision to switch to Proton as our email provider. We opted for it as it gives a decent level of security and stability. We don’t want to promote Proton in doing so. We encourage you to make your own educated decisions. There are alternatives like https://tuta.com and https://riseup.net. It is always good to keep in mind that you can self-host your own email server and use PGP-encryption with any email provider, for instance Thunderbird allows to set it up quite conveniently.

Union for the Rights of Prisoners’/Solidarity Group for the Union

Further information: https://www.inventati.org/campaign/

A/I Statement: https://keepitfree.ai/announcements/a/i-shuts-down-stay-human/