Anna Braghetti, BR captor of Aldo Moro, dies

 ROME – Anna Laura Braghetti, a former Brigate Rosse member involved in the kidnapping and murder of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, died on Thursday aged 72, her family said. She had been ill for three months.

 Braghetti was born in Rome, Aug. 3, 1953, to a petty bourgeoisie family, she worked as an office clerk when she became involved with the far left. Known for being a member of the Rome “column” of the Brigate Rosse, she carried out several violent acts with them, including the killing of two police officers on May 3, 1979, after police intervened in a raid on the headquarters of the Christian Democrats in Piazza Nicosia, Rome.

 Most famously, Braghetti was involved in the kidnap and murder of Aldo Moro in 1978. She was the tenant of the Via Montalcini apartment, where Moro is believed to have been held for 55 days before his death. Braghetti acted as a cover for other Brigate Rosse members who were staying in the apartment, by pretending to be the landlord and the girlfriend of “Engineer Altobelli,” who was later revealed to be Germano Maccari. While there, she was tasked with transcribing Moro’s recordings made during interrogations of the statesman, however the tapes remain missing.

 After the death of Moro, Braghetti was forced underground into partial hiding to prevent arrest.

 Braghetti, along with Bruno Seghetti, participated in the assassination of the vice-president of the Superior Council of Magistrates, Vittorio Bachelet, in Feb. 1980 at La Sapienza University in Rome. She fired the first shot and fatally wounded Bachelet, who was the former vice-president of Catholic Action. 

 She was arrested May 27, 1980, following the murder of Bachelet and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1981, while in prison, she married Prospero Gallinari, one of the leaders of the BR. They later separated. She was granted parole in 2002 and devoted her freedom to helping prisoners and those in need. 

 She was the author of two books, In the Circle of Prison (1995) and The Prisoner (1998), which was adapted into Marco Bellocchio’s film Buongiorno, notte. The Prisoner offers a unique perspective into the 55 days of Moro’s captivity, recounting the daily life of the Via Montalcini apartment.

 khg