Showing posts with label political prisoners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label political prisoners. Show all posts

Sunday, 31 July 2022

Fights On.

           Giannis Michailidis has served his full prison sentence and fulfilled all the conditions for his release, and despite this and the fact that he has been on hunger strike for 67 days in attempt to have his just release, the Greek state is callously refusing him justice and are willing to see him die a slow death, locked in solitary confinement. Giannis has stated that he has suspended his hunger strike for justice, but not abandoned the fight, for reasons he will explain at a later date.
 

 The following from Act For Freedom Now:

         I find myself in the unfortunate position to announce that I am suspending this difficult struggle without having won anything substantial. However, this struggle is not over yet nor do I intend to leave it unfinished. The suspension is temporary; some of the reasons are the obvious ones. Some are not. I apologise to those who have supported me that I cannot share the reasons publicly at this point. Should I need to continue I will explain publicly and in detail the reasons I chose the temporary suspension. I will continue to fight for what I deserve and hopefully will not need to continue.
       The justice system has been humiliated. So far, the only success of this hunger strike is that it has highlighted its contradictions. In terms of the barricades I have attempted to raise, there have been the statements of the lawyers, changing the mood of the “throw them inside and throw away the keys” logic. But my personal request remains in the air. And my commitment that I wouldn’t stop seems betrayed at this point. This weighs on me, of course, and despite knowing that my intention is – if necessary – to continue at a more fruitful time in the near future; but as I said before, not everything can be said at this moment and I hope it will not have to be said. Closing this announcement, I want to wholeheartedly thank those who have supported me in any way. Those who took a stand, those who transcended their social roles because empathy prevailed. But above all, those who fought tooth and nail to break the enforced silence, those who were beaten in the streets to express their solidarity, those who took risks and those who starved in prison. To the latter I owe my life. If all this had not happened, at this moment the conditions for this suspension wouldn’t exist. That’s all for now. I still look forward to my immediate release.

Everything continues…

Yiannis Michailidis

 A text by Giannis Michailidis, read out at the event in Athens for "Words for Remembrance of Political Prisoners."

THE HIDDEN STRENGTH OF AN INSURRECTION IS THAT IT AROUSES THE IMAGINATION

         It was late evening of December 5th, 2008 and I was reading the comic book ‘V for Vendetta’, when a phrase shook me: “Noise is relative to the silence preceding it. The more absolute the hush, the more shocking the thunderclap.” The economic crisis hadn’t yet unsettled the dominant narrative of capitalism as a one-way road, and a spontaneous insurrection in a country of the west world seemed like a utopia. I stood on this phrase, which I felt very believable, but there weren’t any facts to support it and I wondered a lot inside me.. A day later, a bullet struck the heart of feisty comrade Alexandros Grigoropoulos. The bullet came from the weapon of a cop, for whom Vyronas Polydoras, 

Read the full article HERE: 


 
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Thursday, 4 February 2021

Vindictive Minions.

       Those who manage the prison system for their wealthy powerful state masters, follow the state's dictate with a gay abandon, handing out vindictive actions on a daily bases, no doubt getting a feeling of satisfaction and a power rush, which encourages them to continue down that inhumane road.
      Once again, political prisoner, Eric King, has been at the receiving end of this savage brutality. Savage and brutal treatment doesn't need to be physical, there are a myriad of methods the prison managing minions can inflict this treatment on the prisoners. 
       The following from the Support Eric King Group.
 

        On January 5th, 2021, Eric was once again placed on a 6- month communication restriction in response to a New Year’s Eve noise demo that was held outside of FCI Englewood by various groups in Denver, a demo that happens every single year at prisons worldwide. After being accused of organizing the demo, the BOP finally admitted that they are aware that Eric had nothing to do with the noise demo. Despite this fact, the BOP North Central Regional office instructed Englewood to restrict Eric’s communication.
       Apparently, in the BOP prisoners will be held responsible for anything anyone may do. It is interesting though that in 2017 when the right-wing Bundy family attempted to force their way into the prison to visit a prisoner they stood in solidarity with, driving around the parking lot, evading guards, blasting music… there were no disciplinary actions or restrictions enforced on the prisoner. This must be another special BOP rule that only applies to anti-fascists.
         Eric can no longer correspond with anyone outside his family and lawyer. He is again cut off from communication from anyone that might offer him support and strength and solidarity during a global pandemic. He is again isolated from all contact with friends that matter deeply to him.
          If folks want to help, he can receive books. These can be a great distraction for him and all of the prisoners he passes them onto, especially during this next level federal lock-down.
Eric’s Booklist
       Donations to the bad ass lawfirm who has stepped up for him in a real way can be made, to help ensure they have the resources to continue to stand behind folks who are fighting oppression in real ways.
Donate to the Civil Liberties Defense Center
 
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Sunday, 12 January 2020

Prisoners Solidarity.


       Our media would rather we forget the struggles on the streets, unless it is happening in a country that is deemed to be an enemy of the Western imperialism. The last thing the establishment want is for people to realise that the world is in revolt against this planet plundering, life destroying, exploitative greed driven system. State after state continues to attack and incarcerate those opposed to its gravy train for the rich and powerful. If we forget or ignore those who have been locked up in the states repression cages, we lose the struggle for that better world for all. Those who have struggled and find themselves enmeshed in the loaded state judicial swamp deserve our full and unstinting solidarity and support. They have started the struggle, we need them to help us continue with that struggle to end the darkest hour in humanities history, the capitalist economic system. The system uses international co-operation against dissent, we to have to use international co-operation against the system.
      This from 325: 
 
WEEK OF INTERNATIONAL AGITATION IN SUPPORT OF THE PRISONERS OF THE REVOLT IN CHILE. FROM JANUARY 13-19.

“THOSE WHO FORGET THE POLITICAL PRISONERS FORGET THE STRUGGLE”

        More than 80 days after the social outbreak in Chile, the struggle and social organization persists in the unwavering conviction of confronting and breaking with the model of power and economy that has perpetuated inequalities, injustices and abuses for decades.
        Undoubtedly the revolt that still breathes in Chile means this is a turning point with no return, it is within a long journey of struggle that has also brought with it a hard cost: hundreds and hundreds of prisoners of the revolt that are today in the different prisons in this territory. Each week this number increases and in an obvious phenomenon of mass incarceration the State seeks to intimidate and criminalize social protest. We speak of political prisoners of the revolt because of the fact of the mass imprisonment of social fighters after the outbreak of the 18th [October], responding to a political decision of the State and not to technical/legal criteria, understanding the complicity between the different powers of the State in order to perpetuate the existing model of control. That is why we make this call for international solidarity with the prisoners of the revolt in order to reveal the political condition of their imprisonment and demand their immediate freedom. We extend this call appealing to the multiple initiatives and solidarity actions that arise in each territory.

THOSE WHO FORGET THE POLITICAL PRISONERS FORGET THE STRUGGLE!

IMMEDIATE FREEDOM TO THE PRISONERS OF THE REVOLT!

CO-ORDINATION FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE OCTOBER 18th POLITICAL PRISONERS
In other languages 
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Thursday, 3 October 2019

Rotating Hunger Strike.

 
       Spending money on prisoners conditions is not a vote winner, so our political ballerinas shy away from such activities. Therefore the conditions in almost all prisons are atrocious. Overcrowding is a major problem, leading to psychological and physical health problems, aggravated by the treatment from the cage keepers. Obviously the abolition of the prison system is the only humane direction we should be taking, but in the meantime we have to stand up for the humane treatment of those who find themselves entangled in the loaded judicial system.

         Madrid, Spain: Rotating hungerstrike info + letter from Toni Chavero, anarchist prisoner



         Hi everywhere, we want to spread this info about the actual rotating hungerstrike in spanish prisons. The horrible situation in spanish prisons, tortures, deads, the basicly nonexistent medical attention,terrible food, bad communication inside/outside, aislation confinement for rebellious prisoners etc. etc. There are thousands of denouncements of this situation in the offices of the European Union Tribunals at least from the last 20 years. No one there cares about this nonexistent human rights in spanish prisons! So the prisoners, with the support of solidarious groups from outside, try to continue the long tradition of struggles against this fascist prisoner system in Spain. So from last September 1st a small group of prisoners started this rotative hungerstrike and Toni Chavero, anarchist comrade actually encaged in the prison of Estremera (Madr.i.p.) wrote this letter:
          [Madrid, Spain] Letter from anarchist prisoner Toni Chavero about the rotating hunger strike in spanish prisons
         Bunker of Estremera (Prison Madrid VII)
5th September, 2019
         Cheers, comrades, I am Toni Chavero. I hope that on the arrival of these letters you will find yourself with strength and courage. We need strength, determination and a firm position. I want to thank you, first of all, for joining these rotating hunger strikes. I have been on strike for five days today, but I didn’t even have to start it, the reprisals came earlier, I have been cut off from communications with three companions, for “reasons of security and good order of the establishment”. Since they lack the arguments or connections that lead to this intervention, they continue to violate our rights and freedoms through the nose, we will see what the court says. Although I know this goes on for a long time, I have set out to recover communications with my colleagues.
The dentist and the oculist don’t even call me. Reprisals or a Hippocratic oath? Or hypocrite?
          The objective of this strike is obvious and necessary: to demand the application of Articles 104.4 and 196 RP to the companions with chronic diseases, their release without the fascist requirement of having to be in terminal phase, I mean, dead, we’re not gonna stand for this. At least they won’t shut us up. That’s clear to us.
        On the other hand, we call for the repeal of the permanent prison that can be reviewed and, of course, for the disappearance of the hidden life sentences. Here I highlight the case of Antoine or Enrique del Valle, because right now I don’t remember any other name; it would be necessary to make a list of all the people subjected to similar situations.Comrade Antoine (Antonio Nieto Galindo), after 40 years, 4 months and 16 days of effective fulfillment, they want to kidnap him to France, these sociopaths, devoid of heart, unaware of the humanitarian spirit. Who are the killers here? All that remains is for them to claim article 100 of the old penal code of 1973: redemption of penalties for works, studies, cultural, artistic, creative activities, etc., etc., etc. We have no choice but to continue sending the writings about it to the incompetent, national and international bodies, you know the addresses by the compañerx out there.
After the end of the first 10 days, I think we should continue to send letters to these individuals, bodies, institutions In solidarity with the comrades who carry out the rotating hunger strikes. After the end of these first 10 days of September, begins the Peque companion (Courage, Angel!) and so, successively, continue, as I know today, ten more people. I know that they will enter, after finishing the comrade Peque, Aroca Lisón, Doblado, Hermenegildo, Tinoco, Marían Tapia… and I do not know who you are the others. Encouragement and many forces! We will reach the end of 2019 and beyond with these rotating demands, because we deserve it and because we can do it. Determination and iron positioning, I have no doubt. And thanks, inside and out.
          I want to thank the colleagues of Tokata and Grupo Pro Presxs of Madrid, for being the ones who have more contact with me, the fact of taking care of us despite the adversities. Thanks is to say little. To all the individual people, to all the Presxs Support Groups that I know you are there, to the Families, to the Solidarity Solidarity Groups all, thank you very much, much strength for the gatherings in the cave of the jailers (SGIP), the concentrations in Navalcarnero, in Albocásser. Thanks to the friends of Alcalá de Xivert (Castellón) for their “Desde dentro” (From inside), the voice of the prisoners and everything they do. Thankfulxs, compañerxs. Come on, add there the informative tables in Anarchist Book Fairs, Tatoo Cirkus, concerts, etc. You are the fucking rod! We feel you strong in here and we are grateful.
       A terrible fraternal and libertarian embrace. May the struggle for a society without cages not cease!
Rebellion and friendship! Also in memory of our compañero Xosé Tarrío and his nai Pastora.
We don’t forget you! Cheers to everyone.
Toni  
      Thanx a lot for the difusión of this letter-document of Toni Chavero. We animate to everyone to support this struggle with solidarity-actions!  You can also write to Toni directly; his address is:
Toni Chavero,
Centro Penitenciario Madrid VII, Estremera
Ctra. M-241, km 5.750,
28595 ESTREMERA (MD)
Spain
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Saturday, 6 April 2019

Solidarity With Anarchist Prisoners.


       Across the whole of the planet states are enacting a concerted attack on anarchists. Those who stand openly in dedicated opposition to the corrupt corporate capitalist economic system of inequality and injustices, are seen by the establishment as the greatest threat to the continuing control and exploitation of the people and the planet. They are seen as a threat to their power and privileges, so must be silenced. Russia, Italy, France, Greece, America are at the forefront of this ferocious clamp down, but they are not alone. This is a world wide war on dissent, an attempt to silence and stifle any call for a change to the economic system that burdens the people of this world.
       Those who find themselves incarcerated in the system's judicial crushing machine deserve our unstinting solidarity. Dissent must never be silenced, or we will forever by slaves to the power of the corporate juggernaut and at the mercy of the financial Mafia. June 11th. is international day of solidarity with all anarchist prisoners. Think of how you can get involved and show that those who have stood up against this destructive system are not forgotten. 
Graffiti Revolt
      June 11th is an international day of solidarity with Marius Mason and all long-term anarchist prisoners. A spark in the eternal night of state repression. A day set aside for honoring those who have been stolen from us. On this day, we share in songs, events, and actions to celebrate our captured comrades and loved ones. In years past, June 11th celebrations have been international and wide-ranging – from potlucks with friends to various inspiring attacks; fundraising benefits and prisoner letter writing nights to all of the untold and unknown ways we keep the flame alive.
       Building up to this day, each year several of us come together to discuss and reflect on lessons from years past and to renew this call for continuous solidarity. This year we invite you to explore and ponder with us how maintaining support for long-term prisoners depends directly on sustaining the movements and struggles we all remain part of.



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Tuesday, 7 August 2018

While Poverty Exists … There Will Be Rebellion!

           While in prison your treatment becomes, at best, that of a second class citizen, or that of a non-person, something to be controlled, intimidated, subdued. Our solidarity with those incarcerated in the state's cages of repression should be unquestionable and unstinting.

Juan Aliste Vega’s message from the Prison Hospital
 
      Our negotiations and tenacity inside and outside prison over the past four months have achieved a first result: on Thursday 19th July I was transferred from the High Security Prison to the Prison Hospital to have an ECG and other tests I needed. The following morning, Friday 20th July, I was transferred again – amidst a huge deployment of police and prison guards – to the INCA (Institute of Neurosurgery) to finally have an angiography, a test in order to get a more detailed image of the area where the cerebral damage I sustained from blows inflicted in the past is to be found.
        It is worth mentioning that this test is crucial and necessary for the operation that I will need to have very soon. In the end the test was carried out without any problem and the medical team involved treated me in a dignified and correct way.
           After the test I was transferred to the Prison Hospital by ambulance; from there I will be discharged soon to be taken back to the High Security Prison.
Medical language and its technical details can only partially describe my current situation. There are still many obstacles to be overcome, just as difficult or even more difficult than this test, before I can undergo the brain operation, which had already been defined ‘urgent’ last March: obstacles and barriers erected because for the State I am an outcast, closely watched by the local police who act according to the hard logic of revenge and fury, and moreover I’m submerged in a disgusting bureaucratic quagmire.
       These words are far from victimization and lament, but are full of revolutionary, untameable and subversive vitality. In the constant practice of reciprocal revolutionary solidarity, which we subversive political prisoners have been carrying out for years, it becomes necessary to relate any step taken in this battle. It wasn’t the first nor will it be the last battle we have to face as outcasts of the State.
           I’d like to take the chance to rejoice in the various initiatives carried out in Santiago, Concepciòn, Valdivia, Temuco and other places, as well as the internationalist initiatives that were able to cross the borders of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Spain … Initiatives and gestures with which we put solidarity into practice, solidarity that builds and strengthens the network of subversion; initiatives and gestures that are vital to us like oxygen and support us in the path towards the ultimate liberation from prison.
         We remain here, not one step back, without bowing our head, proud of the wonderful rebel complicity that goes everywhere, spreads, multiplies and allows us to face everything that will come.

While poverty exists … there will be rebellion!

Juan Aliste Vega, Subversive Prisoner
Prison Hospital, Santiago of Chile
July 2018

    
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Tuesday, 27 February 2018

The Unbalanced Scales Of Justice.

 
 
        The idea that justice is blind, and all are treated the same before the scales of justice, is one of those enduring illusions and fantasies of the modern society. Justice has never been equal to all in society, wealth, privilege, and position in the ranks of society, all play their part on how that so called blind justice will deal with you. More and more, the modern state sees anarchists as needing a different type of justice from others, the state fears most, those who see another world beyond the authoritarian system of state/capitalism, and are prepare to struggle for that better world. A world that would destroy the privileges, wealth and power of the parasitic leeches that hold the reins of power in present day society.
Greece: 
            Letter from anarchist prisoner Kostantinos Giagtzoglou, on hunger strike since 21/2/18, and updates. 
         This moment I am in the prison of Larissa after the operation that the Special Anti-Terrorist Police Unit carried out early this morning in the isle “A” of Korydallos prison where I had been transferred for court reasons. The cops invaded the isle and the cell I was in, while I was bed-ridden as I was in hunger strike, after a faint episode I had last night, they pulled me out of prison, they hit me and they threw me into the transport vehicle. I tried to resist as much as I could and at the same time I was demanding to take my personal items (shoes, clothes, medicines, etc.) which never happened. They did not allow me to even take a bottle of water I had in my cell although they were aware of my hunger strike and my burdened health condition. As far as I am concerned, I declare that the regime’s attempt to bend my morals will not work.
        “At the moment of dedication, the whole universe conspires to help you”- Johann Wolfgang Goethe
       “Those who oppress their desires, they do so, because their desires are so weak, that can be oppressed” – William Blake
        First of all my captivity does not in any way mean that I am defeated morally or politically. As long as I stand on my feet and my lungs are able to breath, my values and my principles are not negotiable, because my decision to revolt against authority will not be stopped by dungeons and “exiles”. And this is a promise to all comrades.
          It seems though, that my imprisonment alone, as well as my long standing conviction, which has been announced by the police investigation authorities (in the indictment prepared, it is stated that the acts for which I am accused of, seek life sentence) are not enough for the regime. The statists desire to impose on me an unofficial “exile”, apart from the deprivation of my physical freedom. Therefore prosecutor Raikou, instead of ordering my preventive detention in Korydallos Jail, where people arrested in Athens and are awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, she decided to exile me in Larissa jail. An “exile” that aims to:

  1. Keep me apart from my familiar faces, making visits practically impossible by forcing my relatives to travel enormous distances crossing half the country with the expected financial and physical burden, to be able to see me just for a few minutes behind a window glass.
  2. Alienate me from the complex and massive file of the case that keeps me imprisoned, as my lawyers are not able to travel to Larissa so as to have frequent and uninterrupted communication with me. Also the very nature of the case file (thousands of pages in electronic form, video, etc.) makes it impossible for me to access it, even after so many months, from Larissa’s prison as there is no proper equipment.
  3. Facilitate the supervision, control and severe restriction of my contact with comrades who stand in solidarity and other imprisoned anarchists, by trying to isolate me.
        Ultimately they are aiming to convict me before the court decision does, in a forgetfulness regime, “forgotten in a depository of defective and human leftovers” …
      This practice of authority is not something new. However, its strong imposition by the Greek state was evident during 2010-2011, when dozens of anarchist comrades were arrested and then dispersed in several greek prisons (Grevena, Malandrino, Corfu, Trikala, Komotini, Domokos etc.) while they were facing common accusations for the same cases. A role model to this practice was the anti-rebellion repressive method applied by other states abroad, for example in Spain, with the isolation of the separatist ETA fighters at distances of 700 kilometers from the Basque country so that they cannot have any visits and any form of communication between them.
       In my case, the unofficial “exile” (which is not the only one that has taken place recently) seems like and experiment on the authority’s behalf , in view of the adoption of the new correctional Code, since in some way this is a condition for some of its provisions. In particular, authority reopens the exception regime for anarchist prisoners. It has not been many months since the anti-criminal policy secretary, Eftihis Fytrakis of the ministry of justice, declared that “Anarchist prisoners will not be accepted in Korydallos prison”. Today I face my “exile” in Larissa, in the future we’ll see specialized isles for all political and disobedient prisoners. Of course, the experimentation previously mentioned is based on the calculation of our reactions, and especially of the anarchists’ reflexes outside the walls and the solidarity movements to the struggles of the prisoners.
       Also, my transfer to Korydallos prison for another court case of mine (arrest in clashes with the police after an anti-memorandum demonstration on 11 May 2011) took place just one day before, and this did not happen accidentally. It is indicative of the fast track procedures they want to apply in my case, as it seems that there are political pressures from high levels of the regime and their “justice” works on demand …
      “The moral determination of who attacks and gives up on the structures of power is a perception, a moment in which he perceives the beauty of his comrades and the misery of obedience and submission.” I rebel, therefore i exist ” is a phrase of Camus that never ceases to fascinate me, in a way that only a reason to stay alive could. In a world that presents ethics as an area of power and law, I think there is no other moral dimension than rebellion, risk, and dream. The survival in which we are imprisoned is unfair because it is abusive and disfiguring”
Massimo Passamani

        For all these reasons, I REFUSE to passively accept the regime of “exile” and the transfers – abductions in one night. Against these practices I become a 90 degree barrier with my words and actions. As my deep belief is that our actions and attitude should not be orientated in the repression-antirepression dipole, but penetrate every aspect of our being, I wish my struggle will be seen as one more base to attack and open cracks of freedom in the multiple and multiform cells within society – prison. An attack, a result of the rebellion, which, if it doesn’t take place now, it will never be a future option…
       The fact that I am a prisoner of war of the greek democracy does not mean that I left my dignity at the prison’s entrance and backed away. On the contrary, in prison, in the yard, in the cell, in the transport van, I carry with me the pure lust for freedom, every gesture of solidarity, every act of revolutionary complicity that lowers the walls of the prison and the decision to fight for anarchy UNTIL THE END.
      This is the reason why, I started a hunger strike from 21/02/2018, with a request that my transfer to Korydallos prison will be official and the regime of “exile” in which I am in, will be terminated. The transfer request I had applied since my first week in jail of Larissa was rejected, confirming the decision of the authority to put me in a “political quarantine” in Larissa’s prisons and to “be forgotten” there. But the power and the will for a constant anarchist rebellion is capable of reversing every decision made by those who think they can have power over our lives without consequences. Not a single enemy of freedom stays on the safe side and not a single imprisoned comrade is alone…
       I also announce that from tomorrow, Sunday 25/2, I will begin a thirst strike as an escalation to the hunger strike I’m already undergoing. I thank from the heart the thousands of Korydallos prisoners who reminded all of us, today, with their mobilization, that when they hit and treat unfairly one of us it is like hitting all of us. United we will win. Their strength gives me the power to reach to the end in order to win my struggle.

MIND, BODY AND SOUL FOR EVER IN THE STRUGGLE

SOLIDARITY TO ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN GREECE

STRENGTH TO MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO CHILE AND ITALY

STRENGTH TO ANARCHISTS WHO FACE THE REPRESSIVE OBSESSION OF THE RUSSIAN STATE

THE RIGHT IS ON THE SIDE OF THOSE WHO REBEL

VICTORY TO PRISONERS’ STRUGGLE

AGAINST THE NEW CORRECTIONAL CODE

Konstantinos Giagtzoglou.
24/02/2018
All political prisoners deserve our unfailing support and solidarity.
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Sunday, 30 April 2017

The Ochestrated Genocide Of The Palestinian People By The Israeli State.

          The Israeli State is a non-state, it is the Western imperialist's policeman in the Middle East. It was created by the West to gratify the whim of a handful of Zionist fundamentalists. Like all policemen, they get out of control, and now that policeman is hell bent on the genocide of the Palestinian people and the seizure of their lands. A glance at the changing map of Palestine over the years is irrefutable proof of this cruel and bloody land grab. Apart from the theft of their land by the Zionist state of Israel, the Palestinian people have to contend with bombings, tanks, and aircraft bombardment, they continually face harassment and imprisonment backed up with torture, on a daily basis. This treatment is inflicted on every family of the Palestinian people living in that area.
       The following article from 325, is a letter of support from anarchist prisoners in Korydallos Prison in Athens, Greece, to the Palestinian hunger strikers.
      The struggles of the Palestinian political prisoners are directly and inextricably connected with the overall struggle of the Palestinian people. 70 percent of the Palestinian families have at least one member that has been imprisoned for action against the state of Israel. 20 percent of the total population has been imprisoned at least once in their life while according to other estimations 40 percent of the male population has been imprisoned at some point in their life within the past 30 years.
      Another revealing manifestation of the situation the Palestinian strugglers find themselves in while inside the Israeli prisons is the fact that until 1999 “mild torture” during interrogation was considered legitimate practice by law. These tortures included- among others – deprivation of sleep, immobilization in an uncomfortable body posture, loud music, exposure to extremely cold or hot
temperatures, placement of malodorous cloths over the face etc. In 1999 the supreme court of Israel upheld that in certain cases these practices were illegal and thus imposed some restrictions. These restrictions did not, however, rule out force-feeding as illegal in accordance with the UN provisions.
      On the 1st of May 2000 almost 1000 out of the 1650 Palestinian political prisoners participated in a large-scale hunger strike that lasted one month, demanding better living conditions, better treatment by the guards, family visits, abolition of the solitary confinement, access to healthcare and release of political prisoners. During the solidarity demonstrations seven Palestinians lost their lives while one thousand got injured. Meanwhile, sixty Israelis got injured, too. On the 31st of the same month the government of Israel satisfied some of the demands.
      In February 2012 around 1800 Palestinian political prisoners started a hunger strike against the regime of administrative detention. That is, incarceration without evidence to back a charge, without specific accusations, without trial and without sentence, meaning they would remain detained for an indefinite amount of time as ordered by the military authority of Israel. Out of the 4500 prisoners in total, 310 remained in prison under the status of administrative detention. Among their demands was the ability of those family members who resided in Gaza to be able to visit their relatives in prison- a fact that was impossible since, as residents of Gaza, they were not allowed by the state of Israel to leave Gaza-, the termination of solitary confinement and the release of those kept under administrative detention.
      On the 24th of May of the same year and after a several-day huger strike, the strugglers managed to strike a deal with the state of Israel, which pledged to bring the maximum duration of administrative detention down to 6 months if sufficient evidence were not provided in between. Moreover, the family visits expanded and those in solitary confinement returned to the regular blocks.
       Today, 1500 Palestinian political prisoners have been on hunger strike since the 17th of April and their number is expected to climb up to 200 within the following days. United in a single battlefront and despite their internal disputes and confrontations, members of Fatah, Hamas, PFLP and Islamic Jihadists participate in a common struggle as political prisoners.
       Their demands resemble those of the previous mobilizations and have to do with the prisoners’ access to telecommunication and the placement of payphones in every block, in particular. Also, they demand that they have visits from their relatives, who must get a permit to enter the occupied territories –applications for such permits are usually rejected and the visits are, in reality, impossible
since the prisons are located inside the occupied territories. Finally, they demand access to healthcare, the abolition of administrative detention and solitary confinement. The state of Israel has so far reacted with unannounced transfers of the prisoners and their placement in solitary confinement.
        We, as anarchist prisoners of the Greek prisons, can only join our voices with the voices of the Palestinian strugglers. Beside our straightforward and unconditional solidarity with the forces of resistance against the forces of imposition, with the forces of slings and knives against the forces of bombs and tanks, the forces of the oppressed against the forces of state brutality, the forces of the Palestinian people against the forces of the Israeli state, we also express that we have yet another reason to support every act of resistance against the state of Israel. The technology of surveillance, the apartheid know-how, the derogation regime, the interweaving of social and geographical marginalization, the imposition of militarized control upon whole populations, the administrative detention -which makes a come-back in Europe as a tool to manage migration- and the overall dystopian reality that the state of Israel imposes upon the people of Palestine constitute a compass for those in power as well as an experimentation that the rest of the states will eventually be called on to implement elsewhere.
Victory to the struggle of the Palestinian political prisoners
Victory to the arms of the Palestinian resistance
Andreas-Dimitris Bourzoukos,
Antonis Stamboulos,
Argiris Dalios,
Dimitris Politis,
Fivos Harisis,
Giannis Michailidis,
Giorgos Karagiannidis,
Grigoris Sarafoudis,
Tasos Theofilou
Korydallos Prison, Athens
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Saturday, 27 February 2016

Anarchist Black Dragon.


      The Anarchist Black Dragon pamphlet was founded by anarchist prisoner Carl Harp, and the Anarchist Black Dragon Collective in Washington State prison. Most people accept that Carl was wrongly convicted of the Seattle sniper crime and then brutally tortured and murder in prison in 1981. The pamphlet is dedicated to all those suffering in the dungeons of North America and all those revolutionaries who have lost their lives in prison anywhere in the world
       Spirit of Revolt has three copies of this pamphlet in their Bratach Dubh Collection, issues No. 8, 9, 10, and we have just made them available to read on line at: http://spiritofrevolt.info/bratach-dubh-collection-2/  just click on and scroll down to 1-23. Other copies can be read at: https://anarchistblackdragon.noblogs.org/

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Wednesday, 20 January 2016

London Anarchist Black cross.



       Two anti-fascist prisoners currently serving a custodial sentence in relation to a fight with the South East Alliance in London during the summer of 2014. If you would like to write to either K or D, address envelopes to one of them and send to Freedom Bookshop. They will then be forwarded on to them. Remember to include a name and address on the card/letter for the prison to accept it. 

ADDRESS:
K or D,
c/o Freedom Bookshop,
Angel Alley,
84b Whitechapel High Street,
London, E1 7QX.
        We at London Anti-Fascists believe history has taught us that anti-fascist action is ALWAYS self-defense. It’s in that radical tradition of confronting fascist’s and their ideas that we organise to create a space for working class organisation in order to realise a world without hunger or fear.
Solidarity!

About londonabc

       London Anarchist Black Cross, is a collective set up with the aim of supporting prisoners: political prisoners, people in detention centres or just people fucked over by the capitalist system.
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Thursday, 7 January 2016

A Littler Bit Of Good News.

               In a world that is falling apart, with wars, repression, brutal authoritarianism and executions, it is cheering to hear some good news.
            Long months have passed since the hot summer day at the beginning of July when our friend and comrade got arrested at a passport control at the Greek-Bulgarian border. The Europe-wide arrest warrant against her had been issued by the prosecution office of Aachen, Germany, on the 24th of June 2015. After having spent three weeks in Bulgarian cells she got handed over to the German cops at the airport of Sofia.
          In Germany she got locked up under the ‘U-haft‘ (Untersuchungshaft) regime in Cologne because of a presumed involvement in an armed bank robbery that had taken place two years earlier (2013). Under this regime prisoners awaiting trial are locked up, officially for a maximum of six months, which in reality very often is extended up to a period of over a year. In her case the restrictions put in place meant that at each visit (2 hours per month) there were two cops, a guard and a translator present, that she was not allowed to make any phone calls and that all post was first directed to the prosecutor’s office where it was read and then given to her after one month delay.
               Her detention was based on a single piece of evidence: a DNA trace found on two gas pistols discovered in a closet of the bank by an employee 11 days later. A few weeks ago, on the 2nd December, after months of investigation the prosecution formally charged her with bank robbery, hostage taking and weapon possession. These charges were brought in front of three judges, who had to decide whether to pursue them in court or not. On the 16th of December, the court called the prison instructing them to release our comrade because all charges were to be dropped, since the “evidence” that five months of investigation produced was not sufficient for this case to be brought to court.
                 Now, our comrade is back with us. However, the joy that this brings us does not replace, nor lets us forget our anger towards the isolating restrictions, towards the ridiculousness of the uniform circus, and towards any authoritarian system that plays with people’s lives in such a way. The biggest source of strength came from the uncompromising and uncooperative stand our comrade took: she always kept her head up and her defiant spirits alive.
Read the full article HERE:
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk
 

Friday, 11 December 2015

In Democracy, Prisons Are An Anathema.

        Prisons are cages where the state locks away those who resist its power, where it tries to intimidate and silence those who would work at breaking its strangle hold over our freedom. Prisons are there to intimidate, repress and silence any real change to the power structure of this unjust and exploitative system. As long as one prison remains, we do not have a free society. For centuries, so often we have found the voice of freedom locked away in some dark and dismal hole for fear that it might light the touch paper of anger that simmers under the surface of so many. For fear that they could be the spark that releases that fire of burning desire for freedom we all carry in our hearts. While prisons stand freedom struggles.
http://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/resources/lessons/investigating-alleged-medical-neglect-us-prisons
This from Contra Info:
INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR A GLOBAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY ACTIONS BY RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
      We who experience the condition of our children, our spouses, our brothers and sisters, our friends being captive.
    We who have heard exterminating sentences to decades of imprisonment handed down by terror-courts of the State of exploiters.
     We who have stood firmly and with dignity by the side of our relatives and friends – captive freedom fighters.
      It’s time that we raised our own voice. It’s time that we proclaimed our own truth.
     We propose and call for a Global Solidarity Action Day joined by relatives and friends of political prisoners.
     From Greece, Italy, Spain to Chile and Mexico and throughout the Earth.
     Let us all together shout out loud:
POLITICAL PRISONERS – IMPRISONED FREEDOM FIGHTERS
ARE NOT ALONE.

     We stand by them and will continue to do so. In the face of the barbarity of terror laws of fascist and democratic governments of the empire of wealth, we will continue to resist.
       We propose December 31st as a day of global action undertaken by relatives of political prisoners.
      Through initiatives for manifestations & interventions at prisons, courts, ministries and every centre of Power.
        For human dignity and FREEDOM.
Until the demolition of the last prison left standing
We continue to resist.
Relatives & Friends of prisoners and prosecuted fighters | Greece
sygeneis-filoi[at]espiv.net
call-out in Greek
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk


Sunday, 8 November 2015

Anarchist Black Cross.

An announcement from Italy Black CrossCroce Nera Anarchica: 
        As already announced in the first meetings for the presentation of the Anarchist Black Cross editorial project, besides the contribution made with information and discussions through the paper and the blog, we’ve been proposing the creation of a solidarity fund for anarchist prisoners, as we want to give economic support to those who fall into the tangles of repression of which they are active conscious enemies.
We’ve now done it and created the fund.
      Anarchists are intrinsically reluctant to all political categorization, they are anti-political by nature and therefore shouldn’t be referred to as political prisoners. At the same time, anarchists end up in prison on the grounds of ideas, actions and behaviour that are the result of ethical, political and existential awareness. Painful awareness, intellectual conscience, joyous revolt and any other mixtures of feelings, actions and knowledge, is a natural process that leads us to be informed, alert and critical towards certain trajectories of struggle and repression. We are anarchists, alien to the concept of politics, no matter what the name; if we fall into the net of the enemy, we don’t claim to be political objects but are subjects of a different sociality/a-sociality, a different view on the existent. We look for allies, accomplices, comrades among the others oppressed by the machinery of dominion. But that doesn’t mean mythicizing class belonging as the old communist Vulgate did, or making clumsy attempts at social entomology and looking for the oppressed we talk about, be they outside or inside prison, from the pulpit of our analysis, as though the oppressed were objects of study.
      We are well aware that in this context making distinctions can be unpleasant and misleading, as this can lead to simplifications liable to be exploited on a political level and by the repression; that is why we decided to clearly specify the discriminating factors we have chosen, for the time being.
      A solidarity fund in support of anarchist prisoners, which obviously goes beyond the fictitious distinction between political and social prisoners.
     We’re also aware of the increased repressive clampdown as a result of recent legal measures, which makes the need to use instruments that the enemy would like to suppress even more obvious.
We want to add that we don’t intend to give any ‘geographical connotation’ to the prisoners we are about to support, and that this is a solidarity fund for them, not a fund for legal expenses or a tool of legal support.
      We want to become active on these grounds, aware as we are of the effort required and our current possibilities.
CNA
To send solidarity contributions:
PostePay Card Number: 4023 6009 1934 2891
Account name: Omar Nioi
Via:croceneranarchica
Translated by act for freedom now
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk



Thursday, 1 October 2015

State Repression Continues.

        As the vindictive Greek state sticks to its inhumane policies, the life of Evi Statiri ebbs away. She is being held in prison simply because she is the relative of a prisoner. However, protests continue, but need all our support and solidarity. 

Poster reads:
FREEDOM FOR EVI STATIRI WHO CONDUCTS HUNGER STRIKE SINCE SEPTEMBER 14TH When the Power fail to make subversive prisoners bow down to them, they target their close and supportive environment, seeking to punish what goes beyond the polarity between innocence and guilt: solidarity.
      As of today, September 30th 2015, we participate in the mobilisation of prisoners throughout Greece (at the prisons of Trikala, Domokos, Grevena, and the women’s and men’s prisons of Koridallos in Athens) for the immediate RELEASE of Evi Statiri, wife of political prisoner-member of the Cells of Fire Gerasimos Tsakalos.
      Evi has already been admitted to the General State Hospital of Nikaia, having entered her 16th day on hunger strike.
     Solely responsible for her life are the justice minister — who enacted an amendment-scrap of paper for the cessation of prosecution against relatives of inmates, which nevertheless remains inactive — as well as the judicial council where the request for Evi’s release has been filed – who are procrastinating at the expense of her constantly deteriorating health.
      Until Evi is released from prison, we refuse the midday lock-up and count in our cells.
       Initiative of Political Prisoners
Koridallos Prisons Underground Annex [*]
September 30th 2015

        [*] basement in Koridallos women’s prison, a special high-security unit for men where those convicted as members of armed revolutionary organisations, including anarchist comrades, are being held separately from the general population of inmates
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

24 Years In Prison, Without Sentence?

      An appeal on behalf of Sean Swain.
About Sean Swain: Sean Swain is a hostage held by a lawless rogue-state calling itself “The State of Ohio.”1    He has been held without legal conviction or sentence since 1991 for the self-defense killing of a court official’s relative who broke into Sean’s home and threatened his life. In fall of 2012, prisoners calling themselves the Army of the 12 Monkeys (A12M) got rowdy at Mansfield Correctional, and the prison authorities assumed “that anarchist” Sean Swain must have been behind it and threw him in supermax isolation. Sean denies any involvement or affiliation with the A12M and is in the process of suing the ODRC for targetting him based exclusively on his ideology and political speech.
Received on September 15th:
        We’re not sure what’s going on, but Sean Swain has been blocked from receiving (and presumably sending) JPay emails. He also has not called his primary supporters, or The Final Straw for a new radio segment. We’ll probably hear from him via snail mail sooner or later, but until then, we’ve got to assume he’s cut off.
        When we called the prison, they told us he was not in the hole, and did not have any restrictions on his communication. We suspect they may have transferred him back to a 3B spot, undoing the success of our recent call-in effort. They refused to tell us what security level the block he is held in is on and they got surly and authoritarian when we asked.  It seems that the officers at Sean’s newest prison, Warren CI need to learn that their jobs are a whole lot easier when they don’t provoke anarchists from across the country to call and check in on the welfare of our friend who they hold captive.
WARREN CI: 513-932-3388state repression,politi
        You can call Warren CI and ask the same questions we asked- why does Sean not have access to communication, what security level is he currently housed in, and does the JPay kiosk in his (or any Warren Unit) actually work right now? You can also leave Sean’s Case Manager a voicemail by punching extension 2281, or try and talk to deputy warden Robert Welch, who maybe got Sean moved from 3B to 3A a few weeks ago, he’s at ext 2005. Whatever lucky anarchist happens to be on the call when when of these officers breaks and spills the beans, please drop a line to AnarchistSwain [at] gmail [dot] com.
       Sean doesn’t like when they fuck with his communication access. Being a writer, getting his voice out is one of the things that help Sean feel connected to the outside world. So he’s probably feeling alone and frustrated. Also, his birthday was Sept 12th, so if you haven’t written for a while, or missed sending him birthday wishes, please consider dropping a line and letting him (and the mailroom monkeys who have to read all his incoming communication) know that he is loved and missed.
Sean Swain
243-205
Warren CI
P.O. Box 120
5787 State Route 63
Lebanon, Ohio 45036
Current address, as of Aug 14, 2015
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