A-Infos (en) FREE THANOS MICHALAKELIS! imprisoned for the F15 antiwar demo in Athens.

["anar anar" <all_anar@hotmail.com>]

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24 people were arrested in Athens during the F15 anti-war demonstration and 
in surrounding streets after it has finished, while the police was throwing 
loads of tear-gas in front of the US embassy and some roadblocks before, so 
that part of the -150.000 people- demonstration never get there.

In police headquarters, the 24 arrested, high-school students among them, 
were physically and psychologically tortured and sexually harassed by riot 
police squads who had them on their knees for more than three hours, 
punching them with globs and kicking them. Despite that, all, apart from a 
17year-old, refused to give any testimony to the police. Eleven of the 
arrested were released without charges later on. The other 13 persons, all 
accused for a dozen of misdemeanours (like causing damages, resisting 
arrest, threatening authorities etc) and 2 of them for three felonies 
(possession and use of explosives + arson) were first taken to court on 
Sunday, with the signs of torture evident on their faces. There, the police 
forces intimidated their friends, comrades and relatives and didn't let 
anyone go close to the arrested. They took them back to Police h.q. for 
another night.

The only thing there is against them are cops' "testimonies" and 
"identifications". These "testimonies" are constructed in a way that burden 
those arrested for all the minor violent incidents that happened in three 
different points of the demo: In the beginning, where there were some 
molotov and stones thrown against riot police + a bank with smashed windows, 
in the middle, near the British Embassy where there was an attempt to set a 
riot police van on fire with molotovs, and in the end, outside the US 
embassy, where stones and sticks were thrown against riot police who used 
massively tear-gas. None of the persons was arrested in the time and place 
of these incidents, but only afterwards ...some of them even earlier(!) from 
the time of the incidents they're accused of. Others were arrested during 
strong police attacks at the demo with tear-gas near the US embassy...
On Monday, February 18, the 13 arrested were examined by a public 
prosecutor. He decided to set free 10 of them who had only charges for 
misdemeanours. They are still going to have a trial. Until then, five of 
them will have to present themselves in a police station twice a month. The 
other three were taken back to police hq.

On Tuesday, F19, Two of the persons still in custody were taken to court.
One of them, 24 years-old Thanos Michalakelis, facing felony charges for the 
incidents in the beginning of the demo, even if he was arrested in a metro 
station and with no evident against him, will go to prison, according to the 
decision of the public prosecutor. In reality, the only reason for his 
imprisonment is that he has been arrested in the past, when he was 17, in 
the Polytechnic revolt of 1995 along with 504 other people who were in 
solidarity with a prisoner's revolt in Koridallos and with anarchist 
prisoners on hunger strike. The other person, Sofia, was released until 
trial, after she had to pay a bail. People who were outside in solidarity 
were again facing intimidating attitude and threats from riot police, for 
third day in the court. It was the same squad that was torturing the 
arrested inside police headquarters on Saturday. Thanos, was taken back to 
police car, hand-cuffed and surrounded by strong police force, while 
comrades chanted the slogan THE PASSION FOR FREEDOM IS STRONGER THAN ALL 
PRISONS

Wednesday F20, the last person still in police custody, 20 years-old Kostas 
P, also facing felonies was released with 3000 euro bail. He was arrested 
outside a hospital and now charged, according to a cop "identification", 
with attempt to cause fire to the riot police van, close to British embassy.

The 13 were not only tortured but also facing charges based on the 
"testimonies" of the same cops who tortured them, so that the police has an 
alliby for its violence against the demonstrators and in order to terrorize 
and disencourage people from continuing to struggle.

The torture of the arrested and the imprisonment of Thanos Michalakelis aims 
at sending a message of terror to all those who resist state terrorism and 
capitalism brutality. More specificaly, it is the message of "zero 
tolerance" for the next anti-war demonstrations, which will probably happen 
after the war "starts", and for the next demonstrations that will take place 
soon against the various summits organized by the greek presidency of the 
E.U.

FREE THANOS MICHALAKELIS! imprisoned for the F15 anti-war demo in Athens
SOLIDARITY WITH ALL THE PEOPLE ARRESTED IN THE ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS!
WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET ANYONE HOSTAGE OF THE STATE!
DOWN WITH STATE TERRORISM! SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON!


SOLIDARIOS http://www.geocities.com/anar_gr/english.htm

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