Friday, September 26, 2008

About the case

Vaggelis Botzatzis is a Greek Anarchist who has been remanded into custody since the end of 2007. He is accused of setting fire to 2 company cars belonging to the Greek national energy company, setting fire to a Greek bank, and of an arson to a French car dealership. Vaggelis was arrested at 26 november 2007. Due to Greece’s laws, he can be held in prison for up to 18 months prior to trial. For the same case three more comrades are wanted by the police and they are still on the run. They are all accused under the greek anti-terrorist law and if they get convicted they are facing huge sentences. Vaggelis is claiming that he is innocent and he says that the reason for his arrest is his participation in the anarchist movement. It is important to mention that the only evidences that the greek state has is a testimony of a security guard and a fake testimony of woman that it was taken under threats and psychological pressure from the police. This last testimony was withdrawn after several days with a public statement.
The days after Vaggelis arrest we experienced a huge police movement in the city. Several comrades were taken to the police station for questioning, houses got searched and riot cops surrounded the neighborhood that vaggelis and the 3 comrades were living. Also some media of the country published the photos of the 3 wanted comrades. Against this situation a big variety of solidarity actions rised up from the first days and they are still going on all over greece.
This case of state repression is one of the most important cases for the greek radical movement the last years. Because the greek state is trying to accuse people under the anti-terrorist law for practices like arsons, that previously were not defined as so. If they succeed now, they will continue. The states effort is to reduce the possibilities of uncompromising and radical resistance, to spread fear and weakness to the population. Also to sell the image of security. Finally to "trim" the population to the current necessities of capital. The criminalization of resistance is one of their methods, the huge media propaganda is another. There are many more. The world is turning more and more in a totalitarian way, in this process anti-terrorism is a tool, a name for a state's tactic to confront its internal or external enemies, to secure and extend its power. Anti-terrorism is global strategy with similarities and differences appearing in every country. But the discrimination of resistance, the extension of repression and surveillance mechanisms, the strong ideological propaganda, the offensive social demand for security and the militarization are things that we experience everywhere.
We have to understand it and to fight against it on a local and an international level as well. That is why we think that there is need for international solidarity for the case of vaggelis and the 3. During the next months they will be calls for national and international solidarity action days and they will be also announced from this blog. Keep in touch to get informed.

P.S. Letters can be sent to Vaggelis at the address below. Vaggelis can receive short messages of support written in English or in french. When writing to Vaggelis, please remember the authorities do censor his mail so please do not write anything that could be regarded by the authorities as “dangerous”.
Komotini Juridical Prison ("Dikastikes Fylakes Komotinis")
T.K. 69100
GREECE

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Solidarity Poster for Polykarpos Georgiadis and Vaggelis Chrisohoidis (greece)



POSTER SAYS:
did anyone speak of a
KIDNAPPING?
“…A handful of capitalists
have organized a criminal gang
and have kidnapped the proletarians,
demanding for ransom
their labor force,
merchandising their human activity,
their time (which is turned into money),
their own being itself…”
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
to vaggelis Chrisohoidis and Polykarpos Georgiadis
who the persecuting authorities, exactly because they denied to betray values and people,
accuse them as participators in the kidnapping of industrialist Milonas
anarchists from Serres from north-greece


Anarchists solidarity protest outside Korydallos prison, the main prison in Athens, at the time of the change of the year. This protest happens every New Year's Eve for the past six years. This year more than 400 people took part in the protest that interacted with the prisoners inside through shouting mutual slogans and fireworks. The main slogan was "The passion for freedom is stronger that your prisons".
NEW YEAR OUTSIDE IN KORRIDALOS PRISON 2011
Watch live streaming video from agitprop at livestream.com
FIRE TO ALL PRISONS

A society that punishes/the condition of incarceration/the prison of the mind/the prison as punishment/the rage of the damned will sound on the ruins of prisons/those denying obedience and misery of our era even within its hellholes/will dance together on the ruins of every last prison/with the flame of rebellion avenging whatever creates prisons.

To the prisoners struggle already counting one dead and thousands in hunger strike across greece, we stand in solidarity and anger until the destruction of every last prison.


ARSON AND WILDFIRE FOR EVERY PRISON

SOLIDARITY TO ALL PRISONERS IN GREECE


Keny Arkana - La Rage English Subtitles

1976 - 2000 Greek Anarchists Fight for Freedom

(December Riots in Greece)