Athens, Greece: 19 comrades from anarchist group Rouvikonas arrested during direct action

Nineteen members of the anarchist group Rouvikonas were arrested on Monday following the occupation of the building housing the political office of Independent Greeks, a far-right political party that's part of the current coalition government. According to witnesses, nearby streets were blocked by police vans while riot police guarded all entrances into the building. The arrestees are indicted on misdemeanor charges for disturbing the peace and illegal space occupation, while their reluctance to have their photographs taken could result in charges of disobedience.

Excerpts of the announcement made by the anarchist group follow below:

''The majority, the weak, those who are always paying the price are called once again to contribute to the exit from a crisis created by the segregation of wealth in the hands of a minority. Since 2010 people have endured an unprecedented violation of basic rights won through struggles and sacrifices. The government policies leading to unemployment, starvation salaries, extreme taxation and impoverishment, aim to enforce regulations that will benefit the capital and increase the earnings of a domestic and foreign elite. The government presented these policies as inevitable, necessary and a duty.

We already went through the first memorandum imposed by the PASOK government, by politicians who had publicly stated that ''there is enough money''. Then followed the second memorandum of the coalition government PASOK-New Democracy who had promised a hard negotiation with the loan sharks. Finally, the third memorandum was introduced by the Syriza-Independent Greeks coalition government, despite their promise to ''tear the memorandum''. The president of the Independent Greeks had specifically and emphatically said that he will not tolerate the imposition of new taxes but he obviously changed his mind after the elections.

(...)

The capitalist system will always find new tricks when the old ones are no longer effective for the promotion of its own interests. We witnessed the management of the state authority by different political parties in succession, parties that initially appeared as the saviours of the people but essentially served the interests of the capital. The latest trick is the Syriza-Independent Greeks coalition government that's been branded as pro-grassroots. But its role was always the same: to mitigate social struggles, which could not be done by authority-worn political parties. When the current government fails, the tactic of universal management is to be deployed next. The first signs of universal management are revealed in the votes in favour of the third memorandum by the entire political system and the ongoing pleas of New Democracy towards Syriza to form a coalition government (before the elections).

The hypocrisy is apparent in the position of Independent Greeks as well as Syriza, which for years seemed to be having irreconcilable differences only to forget everything overnight in the prospect of gaining and sharing power.

The role of Independent Greeks in this government is on the one hand to reassure the most conservative segments of society through various communicational absurdities such as the prevention of building a mosque in Eleonas area, the dropping of a flower wreath above Imia and the tragicomic ceremony in Salamis. On the other hand, on the level of geopolitics, Independent Greeks are to reassure the U.S., the E.U. and the N.A.T.O. with positive remarks on the creation of a new N.A.T.O. base in the Aegean and the provision of support to the Ukrainian state via the healthcare treatment of Ukrainian nazi paramilitaries in Greek military hospitals.

At the same time, as the lives of workers are becoming more difficult, so the lives of imprisoned fighters are worsening through the implementation of unprecedented harsh measures that even the military jounta did not implement.

Specifically, the mothers, sisters and wives of fighters are put in jail and even after release they are ostracized in islands -Athena Tsakalou is forced to remain within the limits of Salamina island- or are forced to live within the confines of an imaginary barbed-wire 1km away from their homes- such as the case of Evi Statiri's conditional release.

 It's obvious that these decisions are political in their nature and judicial in their position, which is why we DEMAND the cancellation of the restrictive conditions imposed upon Athena Tsakalou and Evi Statiri and the release of Maria Theofilou, wife of G.Petrakakos. We also DEMAND the immediate release of polytrauma patient Savvas Xiros and the immediate granting of educational furloughs to the student Nikos Romanos.

In today's political circumstances speaking about solutions and finding ways out seems difficult. Whatever course of action is chosen if this deviates from the one determined by the centres of power of the ruling classs, we are to face a ruthless war. We think that in this stage, people and society in general, must fulfill their part in the context of class war, which must be intensified.

On the financial level, refusing to pay and opposing unfair taxes and measures such as the property tax ENFIA, the ''solidarity'' contribution and the house auctions of citizens' first home, is a weapon whose co-ordinated use by large segments of society can destabilize the state and its mechanisms.''

NO NEGOTIATION WITH THE DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL 
RESIST THE NEW MEASURES 
GET OUT ON THE STREETS

(via BlackCat)

Greece: The persecution of the families of political prisoners by the state continues

The following information comes to us via BlackCat; a sociologist, translator and writer from Greece. 

Female relatives and partners of prisoners are still being targeted by the Greek state in an effort to isolate prisoners and repress solidarity movements. Women are seen as an 'easy target' whose repression facilitates the prevalence of a climate of fear impeding the struggles against injustice.

Maria Theofilou, the sister of anarchist communist author and political prisoner Tasos Theofilou was arrested and imprisoned despite the law passed by the so-called 'leftist' Syriza government decriminalizing family relations of political prisoners and despite the recent hunger strike staged by anarchist Evi Statiri. Evi Statiri was arrested and imprisoned under the same conditions as Maria with the excuse of family relations which are supposedly now decriminalized by law.

Maria has been in detention for over a month now because of her relationship with her partner G. Petrakakos and her brother Tasos. Maria was specifically asked about her incarcerated brother during her interrogation by police and then her detention was ordered. 

No matter how cruel the repressive tactics used to create this climate of fear, people will resist as they are left with no other choice.

******

The counter-terrorism unit raided the home of the Theofilou family

The vengeful treatment of prisoners' families and relatives continues and the Theofilou family is at the epicenter of this tactic, despite the law reforms enacted by Minister of Justice Nicos Paraskevopoulos that forbid the criminalization of family relations.

On Monday, 5th of October, around 2pm, 7-8 men of the counter-terrorism unit intruded the residence of the parents of Tassos and Maria Theofilou, while other officers had remained outside.

According to Mrs. Theofilou, the men were conducting a search for four hours and were disrupting and destroying everything inside the rooms. They confiscated the family's personal computer, old mobile phones, keys and irrelevant documents such as addresses and phone numbers of friends of the family, as well as documents regarding the ownership of land and the correspondence between Maria and Tassos.

Because of the unexpected police raid, Mrs. Theofilou was forced to arrange for her two grandchildren (the children of Maria, aged two and four) to remain at a local park for four hours until the search was over.

The counter-terrorism units stated that the search was ordered by the 17th investigator who is in charge of the case of Tassos' sister. Maria was arrested, remanded and faces serious charges for participation in an unknown terrorist organization, without any incriminating evidence at hand, except her relationship to her partner and father of her children G. Petrakakos.

After Maria Theofilou's prosecution, her attorney, Spyros Phytrakis stated that the facts  contained in the case file are not indicative that "we are dealing with a terrorist organization." In reference to the 36 year-old woman, he said:

"None of the added evidence proves that the two guns found in a wardrobe within the house were used by the woman, or that she was aware of them being kept there, or that she committed a delinquent act. Having two children with a man who has engaged in delinquency is not a crime. That was typical of a different time in the past. I hope that the interrogation will not cause problems to the woman and the two underage children."

A similar intrusion of the counter-terrorism unit took place at an empty house owned by the family in the city of Volos.

******

The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry demands the release of detainee Maria Theofilou

Athens, 7th of October 2015
Dr. Argyris Argyriades

We have systematically clarfied that the penalization of family relations and their use to reinforce an indictment is a constitutional construct that characterizes totalitarian regimes. It constitutes the most barbaric institutional process and practice.

Another typical example is the new ''grand success'' of the police in the arrest and detention of Mrs Maria Theofilou, a young mother of two toddlers (aged two and four) who is indicted on charges of being an accomplice of her partner and father of her children. This is a flagrantly unlawful prosecution of a relative which has taken place despite the law prepared by Minister of Justice Nicos Paraskevopoulos, that forbids this kind of treatment against relatives.

We consider the violent removal of the mother away from her children a psychologically pressurizing event bearing traumatic consequences to the mother as well as the children, since it contributes to separation anxiety. The dependence of toddlers at the age of two and even four on their mother is a very normal response based on the instict of survival. Children internalize  the safety that stems from the mother's love and care, a process that was disrupted abruptly in this case. As the counter-terrorism unit raided the home of Maria's parents, her mother was forced to arrange that the children stayed away at a local park for four hours, which only made the situation worse.

We insist once again that the case against Mrs Maria Theofilou is the practical expression of  institutional retribution of justice. It is obvious that her prosecution and detention resulted from her family relations. According to anthropologists all people are relatives of each other, which is why Maria's case is relevant to all of us.

We demand the immediate release of Maria Theofilou in order for her to reunite with her two children.

******

The Initiative for Prisoners' Rights demands the release of Maria Theofilou

The life choice of a husband or the accidental fact of parental or any kind of relationship to defendants continues to amount to incriminating evidence and has become the focal point for the expression of vengeful and inhumane treatment by the authorities based on a new kind of statutory familial co-responsibility.

The pre-trial detention and ill-treatment of defendants' families is not something new, it's a tactic that has been deployed for years in order to inflict psychological pressure and fear in defendants. The most recent case was that of Evi Statiri who remained in detention for six months until she became released following a geat struggle she carried through hungerstrike. The only incriminating evidence in Evi Statiri's case was the fact that she is the wife of political prisoner and member of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire Gerasimmos Tsakalos.

The case of Maria Theofilou is even more unfair and vengeful on the part of the authorities, since the outcomes  affect both of her children. Maria Theofilou - from the day she was pilloried when her photographs appeared in mass media- was remanded and her relationship to her husband and father of her two under-aged children (2 and 4 years old), G. Petrakakos, was used as ''evidence''.

It is obvious that for the authorities the separation of the two small children from their mother was not enough, despite the fact that at this age separation can be be a cause of trauma. This inhumane treatment goes to extremes when, in complete disregard for the children as well as Maria's parents, the police raided her parent's home resulting in the two toddlers having to stay at a park for four hours, which is how long the raid by the counter-terrorism unit lasted.

The most solid proof of the arbitrariness exhibited by the judicial and investigative authorities is the clear violation of the amendment introduced in the bill for prison reform voted in April 2015, which clarifies that family relations cannot be penalized.

For all these reasons analyzed above, the Initiative for Prisoners' Rights demands:

- that the prosecution and vengeful treatment against prisoners' families must be stopped
- adherence to the amendment of Minister of Justice Paraskevopoulos which de-penalizes family relations 
- the immediate release of Maria Theofilou as a family member of a defendant and as a mother of two under-aged toddlers.

INITIATIVE FOR PRISONERS RIGHTS

******

Maria Theofilou on her pre-trial detention and the effect on her children

Since Tuesday, September 29th, after five days of detention in the Counter-terrorism jail, I have been remanded in the women's section of Korydallos prison. The series of charges I am facing essentially occurred from harbouring my Partner.

Our children 2 and 4,5 years old had to endure the violent moment of their father's arrest but mainly the frightening experience of the attack against them since there were guns pointed at the four of us with excessive violence the moment we got in our car. These events along with the violent separation and weaning as well as the deprivation of both their parents pose a great risk to their mental health.

I would like to clarify that the only incriminating evidence against me, based on which my pre-trial detention was decided,  was my relationship with my brother who is incarcerated in Domokos prison. It's worth noting that the final question I was asked by the interrogator and the prosecutor with a great amount of irony and satisfaction, as if this was proof of my guilt, was whether I have any siblings and where my brother is currently.

Considering that there is no evidence against me, I am asking for my temporary detention to be terminated so that I can return to my children. I am asking for an end to this vengeful prosecution and a treatment based on evidence and not my family relationships.

Maria Theofilou
21/10/2015

******

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH MARIA THEOFILOU!

END THE PERSECUTION OF PRISONER'S FAMILIES & RELATIVES BY THE GREEK STATE!

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH ANARCHIST COMMUNIST PRISONER TASO THEOFILOU AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN GREECE! 

Thessaloniki, Greece: SYRIZA offices vandalized in solidarity with Evi Statiri

At midnight on Wednesday, October 14th, 2015, we attacked the offices of SYRIZA in the neighborhood of Neapoli and vandalized the entrance to the offices of the same party in Aristotelous Square in solidarity with Evi Statiri and in response to the imposition of restrictive measures that accompanied her release.

Nobody can play with the lives of our comrades.

IMMEDIATE LIFTING OF RESTRICTIVE MEASURES AGAINST EVI STATIRI

SOLIDARITY WITH THE IMPRISONED COMRADES

- Solidarity

(via Athens IMC)

*Note: Photograph is from corporate Greek media reporting of the attacks

Thessaloniki, Greece: ATMs sabotaged in solidarity with Evi Statiri

On September 14th, 2015, Evi Statiri began a hunger strike against fear and injustice, demanding an end to her vindictive imprisonment. The SYRIZA government in another attempt to diffuse the situation freed the hunger striker with harsh, restrictive measures:

Prohibited from leaving the territory of the Greek state, report to the local police station 3 times a month, a prohibition on meeting or communicating with the co-accused in the same date including her partner Gerasimos Tsakolos, compulsory residence at her home in the Gyzi neighborhood and limited to movement within a one kilometer radius of her house.

Nobody can play with the lives of our comrades and their families. Retaliation by the state against the urban guerrilla prisoners will not go unanswered.

On October 6th, as a minimum response to the restrictive measures imposed against Evi Statiri, we attacked and trashed 2 ATMs located in front of the University of Macedonia.

IMMEDIATE LIFTING OF THE RESTRICTIVE MEASURES AGAINST EVI STATIRI

SOLIDARITY AND STRENGTH TO THE IMPRISONED COMRADES AND THEIR FAMILIES

- Solidarity

(via Asirmatista)

Athens, Greece: Election kiosks torched & vandalized in solidarity with anarchist prisoners

On Saturday 19/9 at dawn, we tried to disrupt even temporarily the conformism of the petty masses. As the crowd was sharpening its passivity, ready once again to show its complicity by supporting the authoritarian structure, we tried to actively declare our complicity with the anarchist prisoners, who carry out their own fight against the isolation and alienation their are subjected to in the condition of imprisonment.

Evi Statiri, partner of Gerasimos Tsakalos, is on a hunger strike since 14/9 demanding only the termination of her unjustified detention. Evi Satiri, victim of the authority’s generalized power expansion strategy is imprisoned in the cells of democracy since 2/3 when she  was arrested together with Angeliki Spyropoulou and Athena Tsakalou in Salamina and is accused of being member of a terrorist organization without any evidence whatsoever . It is certain that Evi is not held hostage by the state by accident. Authority, beyond the psychological test to which it wishes to put the comrades of CCF in order to avenge them for their consistent and uncompromising aggressive attitude, has a much more dangerous target in its plans. The democratic totalitarianism of order, legality, safety, quietness, commodities, and economic domination wants to eliminate everything that questions the choices which the masses are allowed to consume from its one-dimensional reality of the spectacle.

The total expansion of a reality with predefined movement limits doesn’t allow its questioning, much more the transfer from the abstract space of ideas to the physical armed confrontation with the materializations of institutional power. Those who negate the existent, should firstly be punished and eliminated and secondly, since no punishment can erase events, have their choices isolated, marginalized, ridiculed and communicated in the rational control tanks and their bearers. Anarchists urban guerrillas who attempt a radical deconstruction of modern life, should literally disappear from the social terrain in order for the smooth operation of the system and it is a natural consequence by which no one should be surprised that family members and friends are prosecuted, following their choice to have relationships with people whose history should be deleted from the social memory.

Under these conditions we wanted to disrupt the daily flow of news, information and events of an election campaign, we placed incendiary devices at two election kiosks, one of the Communist Party and one of SYRIZA in Ano Patissia, and vandalized one kiosk of ND (New Democracy) in Kifissia. Although there are many reasons to attack these political parties, the choice was essentially arbitrary, so we will bother explaining any special reasons for these attacks since as anarcho-nihilists we are hostile towards every political structure. The time frame of the attack however was not arbitrary at all. Our choice to attack a day before the elections was aimed to disrupt the democratic spectacular relations where domination demonstrates its ideological omnipotence. Elections also are fully adapted to the existence of the modern slave who was asked to give away a life whose rights have already been taken, to the hands of a specialist. The votes deposited in the ballot box bear the imprints of an abandoned life and a rented consciousness whose every desire is the product of social imperatives, independent only to the extend that it confirms the one-dimensional civilization of the authoritarian world.

It is obvious that the choices and issues of anarchist prisoners have no place within the borders of domination and that is why we as anarchists take up the task of establishing the flow of our own world against those who in the face of the fear of a chaotic life chose to seek refuge in the smoothness of authoritarian realism. In contrast with the procedures for managing the masses, the issues concerning anarchist comrades are directly linked to us and we are prepared to assist them when necessary. Far from reproducing nihilistic intellectualism and the commodified notion of violence for violence, expressed by discontented crowds, let us go on the offensive always according to our desire for action. Let us put an end to the graphic reproduction of phrases spoken too many times and harmless slogans and let us begin to live the war for which so much ink has been spilled.

Immediate release of the hunger striker Evi Statiri, not because her imprisonment is “illegal” or “unjust” but because we demand it.

Immediate granting of educational prison leaves to Nikos Romanos

WAR ON DEMOCRACY

DEATH TO LAW

DEATH TO SOCIETY


Nihilists for the total attack against the existent

(via Inter Arma)

'Our Day Will Come' - The Conspiracy of Cells of Fire Escape Case (PDF Book)

Insurrection News received on 08.10.15:

Attending solidarity call to Evi Statiri we share with you a book which speaks about what triggered after the arrest of the fugitive Christos Xiros, the discovery of an escape plan to escape from Korydallos prison by Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, Imprisoned Members Cell; the subsequent manhunt against comrade Aggeliki Spyropoulo and her detention with relatives and friends of CCF comrades, and finally, the hunger strike for over 30 days in which they put their lives at risk.

It also has a prologue by CCF, imprisoned members cell.

We are interested that the experiences of CCF`s escape attempt and subsequent hunger strike could be transmitted as an expression of anarchic ability to build our offense in an autonomous way, as a part of our defense and dissemination of every indomitable and antagonist attitude against Power.

The most of the text were taken from the related anarchic webs.

Also, this book has a Spanish version, with translations made by us and other comrades.

Without another word, we share this book with you.

Sin Banderas Ni Fronteras, anti-authoritarian agitation group.
Chile, 2015.

sinbanderas.nifronteras(at)riseup.net

Download options HERE

Spain: 20 Rabbits liberated by Animal Liberation Front in solidarity with anarchist prisoners

In recent years in Spain, especially in Catalonia, rabbit farming has been severely affected by the economic crisis and many farms have closed over the past five years.

Several times we have found while observing potential targets that security for the farms have been abandoned.

Similarly we can also verify that the number of Animal Liberation actions in the Spanish state has reduced since the crisis began. This is most likely due to a lack of resources by the people who take part in this struggle along with a migration to other struggles by many people.

But on the night of September 20th, 2015 we abandoned our temporary lethargy and went to a rabbit farm located in the province of Barcelona and liberated 20 animals that were imprisoned in it.

This time it was only 20 but we hope that in the future there will be more actions and that we can free many more animals that are harmed by this murderous industry. We believe that now is the perfect time to strike crushing blows against this industry that has barely survived for several years.

We are aware that this depends on both our organizational capacity and our determination but we have seen effective campaigns that have happened in other places so we believe that we can close the few farms that currently remain.

We dedicate this action to the anarchists who have faced repression by the operations "Pandora" and "Pinata" as well as those accused of belonging to "Commando Mateo Morral."

We also send a warm hug to Evi Statiri, who at the time of this writing has ended her hunger strike due to the Greek authorities accepting her release.

FOR HUMAN AND ANIMAL LIBERATION

ALF – La familia Jabalí, la Zorrilla y el Buho

**Video of action HERE**

(via Contra Info)

Volos, Greece: Courthouse paint-bombed in solidarity with Evi Statiri

At dawn on Monday 14.09.15 we attacked with paint the freshly painted Volos courthouse as a minimum gesture of solidarity with Evi Statiri who was commencing a hunger strike to demand her release. Evi is the life partner of a member of the Revolutionary Organization Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, Gerasimos Tsakolos and was detained without any evidence of involvement in the organization in an attempt to criminalize the relatives and personal relationships of political prisoners.

For the same case, exile status was imposed on Athena Tsakalou, mother of Christos and Gerasimos Tsakalos (she has been banned from leaving Salamis).

Freedom to Evi Statiri!

Immediate removal of the restrictive conditions against Athena Tsakalou!

Solidarity Initiative "Echoes of Prison"

(via Imprisoned Fighters Solidarity Network)

Greece: Evi Statiri commences hunger strike in Korydallos Women's Prison

HUNGER STRIKE

Against fear and injustice

From today, September 14, the calendar on my cell wall will not change page. This date will remain stuck there up to the day of freedom.

Today, September 14, I begin a HUNGER STRIKE for my release; against the fear of power, against the lies of journalists, against the apathy, against the silence...

Cops, judges and politicians caged my days within the walls of this prison but they cannot cage my dignity or my desire for freedom...

This is my refusal to accept the the omnipotence of power that crushes our lives by storing them inside folders filled with police records inside investigative offices, this is the legacy of collective history - the struggles of the oppressed who resisted, who revolted, who bled and still seek justice. 

It is the return of the memory of the insurgents, the suppressed and the prisoners who do not forget that freedom is not given away..but won via struggle...

“You only have power over people as long as you don't take everything away from them. But when you've robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power--he's free again.” - A. Solzenitsin

Evi Statiri
Korydallos Women's Prison
14.09.15.

(via Athens IMC)

Greece: TEI Athens occupied in solidarity with Nikos Romanos, Evi Statiri & Athena Tsakalou

13.09.15: Today anarchists have begun an occupation of the Technological Education Institute of Athens in solidarity with Nikos Romanos, Evi Statiri and Athena Tsakalou. 

The occupiers are demanding that prison authorities grant Nikos Romanos the educational leave that he is entitled to - recall that the comrade was granted educational leave by the Greek government following his 31 day hunger strike in late 2014. Many months later and the prison authorities are still stalling and refusing to grant him the leave.

The occupiers are also demanding the immediate release of Evi Statiri who is still being held hostage by the Greek state for the 'crime' of being the life partner of Conspiracy of Cells of Fire member Gerasimos Tsakolos and for the restrictive conditions imposed against Athena Tsakalou, the mother of CCF members Gerasimos and Christos Tsakolos, to be lifted.

The occupiers released a communique explaining the reasons for their action HERE (Greek language).

Solidarity with the occupiers of TEI Athens!

Direct granting of educational leave for Nikos Romanos!

Immediate release of Evi Statiri!

Immediate lifting of the restrictions against Athena Tsakalou!

Athens, Greece: Incendiary solidarity with Evi Statiri and Athena Tsakalou

At dawn on September 2, 2015 we torched:

- 2 National Bank ATMs in the neighborhood of Galatsi
- 1 ATM of Alpha Bank in Patisia district
- 1 Piraeus Bank ATM in the suburb of Peristeria
- as well as smashing a Piraeus Bank ATM in the district of Galatsi

Our only motivation was our desire to attack. Attacking a prison-society that tries to mold, discriminate and classify our needs, desires and relationships and adapt them to serve it's objectives: the perpetuation of a system of repression and the strategic manipulation of subjectivity and diversity.

The commitment we have to succeed as anarchists is the following one: ensuring that we impose the flow of our world that runs on the rhythms that determine our anarchistic wills away from the lights of the machines of Power; against the social reality of economic, scientific and ideological domination, the morality of commerce and of a world that is classified and commodified to produce questions with ready-made answers.

Against this framework of domination we choose to continue insurrectionist action in the here and now. It is clear that the apparatus of power will do all that it can to repress anything that is opposed to the economizing of life. This has the consequence of it being socially acceptable for power to be applied to the greatest extent in prisons. In the dungeons of democracy there are those who choose to act on the basis of their desires for freedom instead of accepting servitude and nonexistence. The anarchist prisoners are our comrades in the war against the existent and we are not going to abandon them to their fates between the jaws of the judicial complex of shit. We must not forget our imprisoned comrades but we do not have to idolize them. We would like to make it clear that we do not fear the consequences of our actions nor any questions or doubts about their value. 

The prisoner's positions have remained consistent and unaltered despite the conditions of their confinement. This is why the authorities uses the dirtiest methods to try and break them. The organs of Power with their characteristic vendetta do not hesitate to criminalize solidarity as well as family and personal relationships making it's vindictive mania even more obvious - as in the case of Athena Tsakalou, mother of Gerasimos and Christos Tsakalos and of the life partner of Gerasimos, Evi Statiri.

This first wave of attacks is a response to the vindictive blows of the State, as well as a signal of solidarity with anarchist prisoners worldwide.

FREEDOM FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN THE CELLS

IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF EVI STATIRI

LIFT THE RESTRICTIVE MEASURES AGAINST ATHENA TSAKALOU

- Burning Horizons

(via Contra Info, translated into English by Insurrection News)

Greece: New text by anarchist prisoner & member of CCF-FAI, Olga Ekonomidu

The following text 'From the land of the forgotten against oblivion...' by anarchist prisoner and member of CCF-FAI, Olga Ekonomidu is a contribution to the imprisoned comrades in Chile: Tamara Sol and Natalia Collado. It is also a gesture in solidarity with Evi Statiri, held hostage by the Greek state, written in the context of the call for a national solidarity day on Semptember 2nd, 2015. Translation from Greek to English by Inter Arma.


Greece: “From the land of the forgotten against oblivion…” by Olga Ekonomidou

The captivity condition in which I find myself for 4,5 years now as a vindictive and exemplary punishment has created a distance between me and outside reality, action. Besides, the purpose of imprisonment for those who fight against the existent is separation, deprivation, political isolation, moral annihilation. But there are always bars to brake either you walk in the monotonous sterile corridors of a “penitentiary” or you cross the decorated streets of consumption of prison-society. Now, within the prison cells of democracy, my need for freedom continues to give breath to my each day. It’s my moving force, to think, to imagine, to organize, to act. The decision of total conflict with the existing, the power of individual choice enriched by collective action experiences, are the ingredients that can penetrate the prison bars and high walls. Why in prison you don’t give up… you go on. You reorganize yourself and you fight. For 4,5 years I wake up in a bed in prison always a little after sunrise, although many times  I liked sleeping more when I was out, I organize my every move, although outside the spontaneous often moved me, I analyze and judge the data (political and personal) of yesterday’s day alone, although outside I always shared them with comrades. For 4,5 years I wake up every morning feeling sure that I alone defined my participation in the war against any form of authority and that freedom is not given away… you conquer it yourself.

January 2015… a plan about to materialize, to turn into something with flesh and bones. One step…. a breath before freedom…. And if the goal was not achieved… it was surely worth the try!

The attempted prison escape of CCF from our probable graves, confirmed that the struggle for freedom never stops while it sounded the alarm of the state apparatus. It made the damage it would inflict to both the validity and the reliability of the state visible, whether it was successful. So an escape plan, became the occasion for a whole repressive operation with revenge for the years our tenacious attitude and non-repentance as its sole purpose. The diffusion of fear in the part of the anarchist milieu that is in solidarity with political prisoners aiming their political isolation is not enough. For the first time in Greece and with such intensity, an enlarged perspective of the previous logic was applied. After authority saw that its “legal” or “irregular” judicial and legislative arms have not affected us until now, it crawled like an insidious reptile to bite Achilles heel. This time it targeted our relatives. The criminalization of family relations showed nothing but the clear vengeful intention of the state. To blackmail and emotionally destroy those who have hurt the prestige of its structures. The pursuit of new arrests and raids in homes resulted in two detentions. Of the mother of Christos and Gerasimos Tsakalos and the wife of the latter. But as long as you give the enemy the easier he thinks will win. So the same day of these detentions began a grueling hunger strike by CCF which managed to pull the mother of the two comrades out of jail. In this hunger strike which lasted several days, anarchist Ageliki Spyropoulou who is accused for her political contribution to the escape attempt,  was also involved from the start, from the cells of the counter-terrorism agency For two months she was hunted by the police dogs after choosing not to surrender, choosing the difficult but beautiful road of illegality. Until today, we share the same cell discussing, analyzing all those things that came to pass and all that will come from a common perspective, in a new perspective.

From the first days of January, CCF is under constant attack by separating four comrades from the general prison population, transferring them during the night in special isolation cells. This was followed by continuous searches in the cells of the basement, under the pretext of security or some tip. And if every time they find nothing criminally remarkable, the feeling of the dissatisfied hound in their eyes, indicates that they will soon come again. The prison visits for Christos and Gerasimos are informally cancelled since their mother’s terms of release do not allow her to leave the island she lives on, not even for medical reasons. With their their insistence they Evi (wife of Gerasimos Tsakalos) in jail for six months now.

The extension of Evi’s detention is of double significance for domination. On the one hand the strength of urban guerrillas and the tolerance of people in solidarity are tested and on the other it legitimizes the broader policy of criminalization of family relations. It is the psychological game of authority which, among other things, as a battering ram, invades consciences. It targets the minds of relatives in order to tire them, bring them down, make them frustrated and eventually objective, corrupting the trusted relationship we have with them, as they pay the cost of our own choices. And if in the path of every personal history, some comrades, friends or others remained  and others left, is because it is easy to stand next to people when they succeed, but difficult to do so in hard times. But dominion hasn’t won this game. all those they’ve bet on the weakening of the emotional ties and their conversion, they have already lost. Why even six months after, our loved ones, either from within prison or from the restricted areas they are due to court orders, still give us smiles of patience and trust, maintaining their own dignity.

So the bet remains to us, every anarchist cell and individuality that promotes continuous attack and rebellion, to prove that there will be no truce with the enemy neither now nor ever. Particularly in times of repressive operations one does not step back, but instead reignites the attack outbreaks in order to become truly dangerous. To remain a threat as an internal enemy at the heart of the system. Because everything that rolls downhill, stops only when it finds an obstacle in front of it, otherwise it will continue to do so indefinitely by continuously increasing speed, carrying away anything of inferior proportions. It is a live bet, without end, but with continuity, evolution and one direction only… liberation, anarchy.

“I do not need, nor do I want your discipline. With regards to my experiences, I want to have them for myself. It is from them, and not from you, that I will draw my rules of conduct. I want to live my own life. Slaves and lackeys terrify me. I hate those who dominate, and those who let themselves be dominated sicken me. He who bends before the whip is worth no more than he who wields it. I love danger, and the unknown, the uncertain, seduces me. I’m filled with a desire for adventure, and I don’t give a damn for success. I hate your society of bureaucrats and administrators, millionaires and beggars. I don’t want to adapt to your hypocritical customs nor to your false courtesies. I want to live out my enthusiasms in the pure, fresh air of freedom. Your streets, drafted according to plan, torture my gaze, and your uniform buildings make the blood in my veins boil with impatience. And that’s enough for me. I’m going to follow my own path, according to my passions, changing myself ceaselessly, and I don’t want to be the same tomorrow as I am today. I stroll along and I don’t let my wings be clipped by the scissors of any one person. I share none of your moralism. I am going forth, eternally passionate and burning with the desire to give myself to the world, to the first real person that approaches me, to the ragged trousered traveler, but never to the grave and conceited wise-men who would regulate the length of my stride. Nor to the doctrinaire who would like to clutter my mind with formulas and rules. I am no intellectual; I am a human being — a woman who feels a great vibration within herself before the impulses of nature and amorous words. I hate every chain, every hindrance; I love to walk along, nude, letting my flesh be caressed by the rays of the voluptuous sun. And, oh, old man! I will care so very little when your society breaks into a thousand pieces and I can finally live my life.”

-“Who are you, little girl, fascinating like a mystery and savage like instinct?”

-“I am Anarchy.”

Emile Armand, French individualist anarchist

Olga Ekonomidou

member of CCF-FAI

Women’s prison of Korydallos

Greece: Evi Statiri to commence hunger strike on September 14th, 2015

Evi Statiri, held hostage by the Greek state at Korydallos Prison for no other reason than being the life companion of imprisoned Conspiracy of Cells of Fire (CCF) member Gerasimos Tsakalos, has announced that she will commence a hunger strike on September 14th.

The announcement came not long after Evi's latest appeal to be released was rejected by the judicial council. 

Here are some roughly translated excerpts from a text by Evi announcing her hunger strike that was posted on Athens Indymedia website...

"The latest refusal from the judicial council in consideration of my release has only confirmed what I already knew from the first day that I found myself in the cells of counter-terrorism. My imprisonment is not just a personal matter. My imprisonment is the reflection of an overall repressive strategy aiming to dominate via fear and to satisfy the vengeful fury of law enforcement against political prisoners and all those whose values are not consistent with the culture of power."

"I still find myself in prison for the unique 'incriminating' element that I am the wife of political prisoner and member of the CCF, Gerasimos Tsakalos. I am still in prison because I refused to sign their 'certificate of social conscience' and refuse to disown my partner and our relationship."

"Anybody standing beside political prisoners may find themselves in the adjacent cell...Anybody who refuses to bow their head, silence their voice or lower their gaze towards the idols of power can be dragged in handcuffs and detained by the courts and their investigation offices. But the solidarity actions carried out last week showed that fear can rule, but it cannot reign in the hearts and minds of free men and women. I send a big thank you to all those who by their actions expose the dictatorship of lies and hypocrisy of justice that keeps me locked in it's cells. Now a new battle begins...The dismissive ultimatum of the judges leaves me only one answer - the last resort of the captive human - a hunger strike for my release."

"Monday September 14 I begin a HUNGER STRIKE against fear and injustice."

SOLIDARITY AND STRENGTH TO COMRADE EVI STATIRI!

Greece: Freedom For Evi Statiri

Insurrection News received:


On March 2, 2015, Evi Statiri, along with others, was detained under accusation of participating in a 'terrorist' group. The Greek state claims that she was involved in an escape plan by the imprisoned members of the anarchist group Conspiracy of Cells of Fire (CCF), simply because she is the partner of member Gerasimos Tsaklos.

Shortly after the detainments, the members of the CCF and another arrestee, anarchist Angeliki Spryopoulou, began a hunger strike demanding the immediate release of their friends and family. After 31 days of hunger strike, with some strikers approaching death, the left wing management agreed to their demands. However, after months of waiting, Evi remains in prison.

There is only one goal behind Evi and other friends and family of the CCF being taken as state hostages: to force the members of the CCF to bow their heads, to sacrifice their desire for freedom, to compromise with incarceration, to become disciplined prisoners, to agree to psychic death at the hands of the state. At the same time, it is a clear message to comrades who choose to engage in practical solidarity, that prison's door can be opened for them too!

On September 3, the Judicial Council is going to decide on the extension of the pre-trial detention of Evi Statiri.

On September 2, let us the challenge the world of organized apathy with hostile gestures of insubordination. We will continue the war of anarchy until all those locked in the state's dungeones are free. Total solidarity with Evi and all those held in the state's dungeons!

Greece: poster about the cases of Evi Statiri, Athena Tsaklou & Nikos Romanos

"Reach what you cannot" - N. Kazantsakis

For four months the state has held Evi Statiri, the life companion of comrade G. Tsakalos in prison and has kept Athena Tsakalou, the mother of G. and C. Tsakalos isolated on the island of Salamina depriving her of the ability to have contact with her children.

These persecutions serve as the state's revenge for the war initiated by the members of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, a war that they continue to fight even from within prison walls where they still seek their freedom, preparing themselves for the destruction of their prison.

The comrades Aggeliki Spyropoulou and Christos Rodopoulous are in custody for the same case.

Meanwhile, the prison authorities have denied the educational leave that anarchist prisoner Nikos Romanos won with his hunger strike.

Several thousand kilometers away in Chile the comrades Nataly, Juan and Guillermo began a hunger strike to demand, among other things, the  release of their comrade Enrique Guzman. They ended their hunger strike after the release of Enrique. But then four days later, the bastard prison authorities overturned their decision and returned the comrade to Santiago prison.

We for our part know that we cannot expect anything from our persecutors. Our solidarity with the unrepentant anarchists is continuous and aggressive and smashes down all forms of deprivation of liberty.

Until they are free we stand in complicity alongside the armed anarchist guerrillas.

Revenge or nothing.

(via Machorka, translated by Insurrection News)