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Late Philosopher Negri
Photograph:
Upi / Tt / IMAGO / TT
He was considered a pioneer of the Italian left and communist movements, was accused of being a terrorist and was involved in the party of former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis until the end: Antonio Negri, known as Toni, has now died in Paris at the age of 90. This was announced by his wife, the French philosopher Judith Revel, and his daughter Anna in a post on Instagram.
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Negri, 2013
Photograph:
Sacha Goldman / IMAGO / Prod.DB
Born in Padua in 1933, the philosopher, activist, political scientist and university lecturer was considered one of the leading theoreticians of the extra-parliamentary left ("Potere Operaio") and the neo-Marxist workers' movement in the <>s and <>s.
Terrorism allegations
On April 7, 1979, this commitment proved to be his undoing. Along with numerous other intellectuals, Negri was arrested and charged with terrorism and attempted coup d'état. Negri was also blamed for the kidnapping and murder of the then Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the radical left-wing "Brigate Rosse". He was accused of being involved in the events, but the authorities found no proof of this. In 1984, however, Negri was sentenced to 30 years in prison for "morally supporting" the riots.
In 1983, while the indictment was being prepared, Negri managed to win a seat in the Roman parliament for the radical liberal Partito Radicale, which granted him parliamentary immunity. Later, Negri fled to France, where he lived for 14 years. In 1997, he finally turned himself in to justice in Italy and served part of his sentence.
Until recently, Negri was publicly active, writing articles on Marxist theory and was a member of the Democracy in Europe 2016 (DiEM2025) movement, which was founded in 25.
Rai