Prisoner Support

At the end of April 2004, during the lead up to the welcoming celebrations for the accession of ten new member states to the EU, 3 protesters were arrested on the road outside an occupied building in property-market ravaged Dublin. The House that had been occupied had been singled out by a group of activists from Dublin because it had been unoccupied and been left to rot over a period of years. more

Posted 12:28 14 February 2004: Simon and another 12 people charged in connection to their participation to the June demos in Thessaloniki are having ALL their CHARGES DROPPED, according to the decision of the Court of Thessaloniki, an hour ago. Another 6 of the (29 in total) are only charged with misdemeanours; for all the rest the court asked the investigation to continue, due to the gaps and contradictions in the evidence against them more

I was arrested at dawn on 18th October last (2003). First searched, then arrested. I was brought to the Regina Coeli prison in Rome where I was kept in isolation for a week. The charge against me is of violence against a carabiniere who had infiltrated the march-mobilization on 4th October in Rome on the occasion of the preparatory inter-governmental meeting for the signing of the European constitution.  more

Posted 00:23 28 November 2003: We heard yesterday, and so did millions of other people that the Greek State has released all seven of the activists, held because of the resistance against the EU summit in Halkidiki and Thessaloniki in June. We are all overjoyed, it is truly a victory for the solidarity movement around the world and a big defeat for the Greek state.  more

Posted 19:06 06 November 2003: For the last week, all 5 hunger strikers have been requesting admittance to hospital. This is for the reason that if they go to hospital but still refuse food, glucose, vitamins etc, the hospital should refuse to take legal responsibility for them which is very serious. The prison should then also refuse to take legal responsibility for them and they should be released. However the police have refused to allow them to be admitted to hospital, and apparently they have authority in this matter, rather than the prison.  more

Posted 10:36 29 October 2003: Already a year before June 2003 we had decided to take part in the actions against the EU summit meeting in Thessaloniki. We never considered the summit meeting an isolated moment that could magically condense our struggle or bring it to its ultimate climax.  more

Posted 17:00 23 October 2003: A medical team has been checking up on the hunger strikers. As can been expected, most of them have lost around a stone and half each in weight but their spirits are high and we are in direct contact with Simon everyday. Castro is doing well though has suffered with headaches. He is now in his 31st day of hunger strike. more

The information from Greece amongst comrades and lawyers have been contradictary and confusing. Information we are told as facts turns into mere rumours. Therefore as far as we know, from Simon Chapman, we will repeat here and can only report at this stage as fact as of Sept. 29. more

As some of our readers might know, Simon's first appeal was lodged on July 1st 2003. The first appeal process is on the majority of cases rejected. It would have been a miracle if the appeal failed. This we were told from the start so it came as no surprise when we heard that it indeed, had failed. more

Simon was arrested on Saturday June 21st at the anti-EU demonstration in Thessaloniki, Greece. He was by the anti-authoritarian block march which left the occupied university at around 5.00pm. Initial scuffles broke out between the police and part of the march with the police responding with hundreds of cannisters of CS gas and other chemical weapons. Simon was caught up in this attack by the police and was overcomed by the teargas.  more

All those charged at facing between 7 years and 25 years imprisonment. Imagine if this was your best friend, brother, boyfriend. We can not sit back and let another injustice go by at these international actions. This could have happened to any of us. more

On the 20th till 22nd of June EU summit took place in Porto Carras 120 kilometers from Thessaloniki ,Greece. Anarchist/antiautoritarians mobilized for the actions against the summit. Anarchist demonstration on Saturday 21st of June, rejecting dialog with both authorities and reformist groups choose an offensive strategy of targeting symbols of power and capital, as well as confronting police forces. During the demonstrations in the center of Thessaloniki over hundred persons were detained, beaten, some tortured by police and forced to sign the blank papers to be used for the juridical frame-up. Twenty-nine of those have been charged. more

Demonstrate Saturday 2nd June 2001: Meet at 11am at the Crown Prosecution Service, Portland House, Stag Place (Off Bressenden Place), London SW1 (Victoria Tube/BR). March to the Canadian High Commission, 1 Grosvenor Square. more

Reposted from 325, 15 September 2006: Ask anybody how prisons work in society and you will generally receive the same glib response: they protect society by removing 'criminal' and 'anti-social' elements, thereby making life safer for the rest of us. Is this true? Is it the whole truth? more

Thanks to everyone who sent letters/messages of love, support, defiance & rage (the only 4 things I’ve not been short of since I’ve been here). It’s been genuinely overwhelming. "As one riot cop said in court when justifying the need to get his gun out & start shooting people, “they kept coming, we couldn’t stop them”. Remind me again why we do this, remind me again why all this is fucking worth it. " more