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

Friday, August 20, 2010



CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:

DROP THE CHARGES RALLY:





The inevitably long and intimidating legal odyssey has begun for those arrested at the recent G20 summit in Toronto. This coming Monday there will be a rally in front of Toronto Police Headquarters demanding that all charges be dropped. Here's the details. >>>
TOTOTOTOTO
DROP THE CHARGES!
END CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT!
DROP THE CHARGES! END CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT!

Time
Monday · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
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Location outside Toronto Police Headquarters
40 College St
Toronto, ON
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Created By Toronto Community Mobilization Network
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More Info
DROP THE CHARGES!
END CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT!

Rally in solidarity with G20 Defendants

Speakers: TBA
...
Most of our bruises have faded, but we haven’t. It was two months ago when many were beaten on the streets of Toronto and in their homes, with rubber bullets and tear gas fired into crowds of people of all ages, from toddlers to seniors. Two months ago, the police conducted the largest mass arrest in Canadian history with 1100 people arrested. Two months ago, the police force conducted their vicious snatch squads to kidnap (and sometimes arrest) our community organizers and others simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Two months have passed since these visible assaults on our very basic right to dissent, and they have continued to try to use every tool in their arsenal to discourage people from dissenting. On Monday, August 23rd hundreds of people will be converging in Toronto again, this time to appear to face outstanding charges from the G20 weekend. The crown is pursuing charges for over 300 individuals, causing huge burdens on the individuals and their families. They have given absurd bail conditions generally reserved for charges such as murder. Some remain imprisoned without bail. The police have also intimidated and harassed people to ensure bail compliance, disproportionately targeting their check-ins on ‘priority neighbourhoods’. Over the last 2 months the police have tried to divide, isolate, and dehumanize us, but we must show them their actions only make us stronger, more motivated, and more resilient.

On August 23rd, let’s get out our friends, families, and communities to make our message clear:

We are united with the people brutalized at the G20 protests, and demand the Attorney General's Office DROP their charges immediately!
We will unite with the communities brutalized by the police every day, and demand the assault on aboriginal and other racialized communities, on queer communities, on street people end immediately.
We will continue to dissent and take to the streets against the polices of the G20, including the proposed austerity measures.
We will continue to build our movements in the struggle for a better world - this decade will not be marked by their austerity, but rather by OUR resistance.

They Few. We Still Many.

Saturday, July 10, 2010


CANADIAN POLITICS:
FREE THE G20 DETAINEES:

The mainstream media is wandering further and further away from the events in Toronto where the G20 summit was the occasion for the largest show of illegal police behavior ever seen in Canada. Still, 20 people remain incarcerated in connection with what happened none of them charged with participation in the 'mini-riot' that was the excuse for the subsequent 'police riot'. These people are political prisoners, imprisoned simply for exercising their freedom of speech. Here's an update from the Vancouver Media Co-op about what is happening with these people.
CPCPCPCPCP
Free Our Friends! Community Update on G20 Detainees
by Direct Support Committees of G20 detainees

While G20 leaders met behind a steel cage and a 1-billion dollar Fortress Toronto operation, we witnessed an unprecedented coordinated police operation in the city of Toronto. Police brutality against protest participants, journalists, legal observers, medics, and random passersby came in the form of indiscriminate arrests, beatings, pepper spray, rubber bullets, police horse charges, illegal searches and seizures, and extended arbitrary detentions. While in custody, people were forced into steel cage cells with up to 40 people per cell; made to sleep on concrete floors with open bathrooms; denied food, water, toilet paper, and sanitary products; subjected to sexual harassment, threats, humiliation, and intimidation; and refused access to medical attention, phone calls, and legal counsel.

Many were beaten and brutalized, leading to serious injuries and hospitalization. According to an article authored by resident physicians of the Toronto Street Medics, “All of the serious injuries we treated were inflicted by the police. While violence against property received a great deal of coverage, violence against people -- broken bones, cracked heads and eyes filled with pepper spray - has yet to feature prominently in any mainstream media. Our teams of medics witnessed and treated people who had been struck in the head by police batons, had lacerations from police shields and had been trampled by police horses.”

Over the weekend, there were 1090 arrests, of whom 113 were released without charges on the street, 714 were held for breach of the peace and released within 72 hours, and 263 released with pending charges.

Around 20 people still remain in custody. While the exact numbers and charges of some of those still being held in detention are unclear at this time, we know that 17 people are facing a variety of trumped up and politically-motivated allegations including conspiracy.

*At the time of writing (July 9), four have been released with stringent bail conditions including house arrest; one was denied bail; and others are awaiting bail hearings over the next 1-2 weeks.*

These seventeen people are our friends. They come from towns and cities across Ontario and Quebec and are respected and committed activists for a multitude of causes such as environmental justice, women’s rights, economic justice, antiwar, Indigenous rights, queer and trans liberation, and migrant justice. They envision and embody worlds rooted in love, justice, freedom, and self-determination. They are also known in their communities as legal workers, students, animal lovers, childcare providers, and academic researchers. Many were targeted and arrested, including at gunpoint, in pre-emptive raids before the protests even began.

We remain steadfast in standing by our friends. Targeting organizers is intended to weaken our thriving social and environmental justice movement, to isolate effective and vocal community activists, and to criminalize dissent against the violent policies of the G20 that perpetuate environmental degradation, militarization, labour exploitation, theft of Indigenous land and resources, and misery for the world’s majority. This escalating attack on certain individuals and groups is intended to intimidate and silence us all in our various movements and communities across Canada. Make no mistake, if these politically motivated charges against organizers are not defeated, police will seek to use them against organizers in all sectors of our movement.

A recent Toronto open letter against police state tactics with prominent signatories calls for a full campaign to defend the civil rights of those facing excessive charges. The Asian Canadian Labour Alliance – Ontario Chapter is demanding the immediate release of all detainees still being held, and an end to the persecution and daily criminalization of Indigenous, migrants, and marginalized communities.

We encourage our allies to build on this growing solidarity within our diverse social movements to free our friends and demand that charges be dropped against all G8/G20 arrestees, and to keep organizing for liberation for all people, especially those who daily bear the brunt of police, state, and corporate oppression.

They cannot jail our hearts.

- Direct Support Committees of G20 detainees still being held at Maplehurst Men’s Detention Centre and Vanier Women’s Prison in Ontario.

To donate to the legal defence fund in Ontario: http://g20.torontomobilize.org/
To donate to the legal defence fund in Quebec: claclegal2010@gmail.com

Wednesday, July 07, 2010


CANADIAN POLITICS:
JAGGI SINGH NOW IN PRISON:


Jaggi Singh is a Canadian activist with one of the more colourful careers in the country. The graphic, of course, is from his role at a previous protest where he constructed a catapult that was used to launch teddy bears at the police. This is somehow some sort of "horrible weapon". The charges were eventually dropped. Even courts can recognize absurdity given enough time.


There has been a warrant out for Singh's arrest for involvement with the recent G20 protests in Toronto though it is a certain fact that he had no part of the tiny group of rioters that the police used an an excuse for their subsequent reign of terror. Earlier today Singh turned himself in for arrest to the Toronto Police, but before he did so he gave this interview to the Media Coop.


Jaggi would like anyone sympathetic to his cause to write him while he is prison. He can be reached at:
Jaggi Singh
c/o Maplehurst Correctional Complex
Box 10
661 Martin St.
Milton, ON
L9T 2Y3
PPPPPPPPPP
G20 arrests: "We're still at a raw moment"
Jaggi Singh speaks out before turning himself in
by Tim McSorley
Early this morning, Montreal community organiser and activist Jaggi Singh turned himself in to the Toronto Police Service. The TPS had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of "criminal conspiracy, including alleged conspiracies to commit mischief to property, assault police, and obstruct justice," according to a release by No One is Illegal. He is the last of 16 people that police are co-accusing in conspiracy around the G20 summit held last weekend in Toronto.

Singh has become well-known over the years as an outspoken organiser and activist who has faced multiple charges in relation to international summits, including the 1997 APEC summit, the FTAA summit in Quebec City in 2001, and the WTO meetings in Montreal in 2003.

Last night, just hours before he turned himself in, the Media Co-op had a chance to speak on the phone with Singh, who was in Toronto. He spoke about his decision, what he sees as growing state repression, and how activists and organisers can work together to achieve justice. 


On his decision to turn himself in and the legal challenges he and others face:

I've never shied away from legal challenges. Over the last decade there has been a long list of charges and trials, but I've come out successful. So I've decided to meet those challenges head on. From what I understand, I'm being co-accused on conspiracy charges with other organisers based in southern Ontario, Toronto and Montreal.

I don't know the content of the charges yet, but based on previous experiences I've observed, around these summit protests, it takes years for all the facts to emerge properly. [During that time] the Crown and corporate media control the spin. That's why I'm taking the time to speak out before I go in. A lot of people [who are co-accused] didn't have that chance. Many were arrested in the middle of the night... By luck I wasn't plucked out that way.

I really take inspiration from the support and solidarity of large segments of our community. In the long haul,it's not about guilt or innocence, but how we struggle together. In short haul, it's to get all organisers in prisons back into their communities where they are needed and do important work. And I use that term [organiser] deliberately. We are not just protesters. We are people who are rooted in day-to-day organizing, we have accountability to that day-to-day organizing.

In Montreal, for me, that's migrant justice, anti-police brutality, QPIRG-Concordia, and this can be applied to everyone else. We are all deeply committed to organizing. The short-term challenge, as so many have spoken about and written about, is to get everybody back into their communities. We need to plan our next steps to meet these legal challenges, but for me the most important thing is [to do so] through maintaining our organizing.

On police and state tactics:

I think in the aftermath of the G20 police state we saw in the streets of Toronto for at least a week, and particularly during a concentrated 48hr period, police and the Crown are looking for scapegoats to pin the blame on. It seems to me the people in prison up until this point are the scapegoats. None of this is terribly surprising.

Talking about the repression in general, whether it's unjust detention or humiliation, unjust searches, whether it's being charged, it's all meant to scare people away from participation in active social justice movements. Or to funnel people into [kinds of] dissension the state finds palatable. And this is not about the debate over tactics, but that people who reject the G20 are being scared off of protest.

The word unprecedented has been used a lot. It's true. The $1 billion budget is unprecedented. So are the 1,000 arrests, in Canadian history.

There's a reason it's unprecedented. It's that in 2010, with the Olympics and G20 in Canada, it's an excuse for the Harper government to build up the security apparatus. That's why CSIS is paying so many visits to organisers, why sound cannons are being bought, why [the Toronto Film Studios] are being turned into cages-you can't even call it a jail, it's cages. That's why we're seeing an escalation of the charges. What even a decade ago would have been seen as organising, discussing openly about ways to protest, is now being seen as a conspiracy.

If you provide them with resources, they will find a way to spend these resources. It's the equivalent of sound canons, it's the equivalent of pepper spray, the equivalent of searches in the streets.
I'm someone who participates actively in these debates, and police were doing their jobs. People [last weekend] saw what [the police's] job is, and it's what marginalised communities see everyday.
We need an acknowledgment of the daily repression of marginalised communities by police, and and remember this in fighting the things we saw.

On mutual aid and working with a new generation of organisers:

I help give Activism 101 workshops at QPIRG once a month throughout the school year. We go over the four categories the police use - opportunists, realists, idealists and the radicals. Most of us by default are idealists. Whether left or right, we want the world to be a better place, from Bono to Harper. But what separates radicals from realists is the need to identify the roots of the systems of power in place ... and to confront it.

The state doesn't want idealists to become radicals, and a main part of doing that is through ignorance and distraction. But when radicals are active, when they are on the streets, the other way is the baton blow to the face. Labeling them as terrorists. That's the other way to keep people from becoming radicals.

I've seen this before. In Montreal from 1996 to 2003/04, the police had a system of mass arrests. They'd do it over nothing really: graffiti, a minor confrontation with a police officer. The the WTO protests in 2003, Commando Bouffe in 1997, the G20 protest in Montreal in 2000. I was arrested at that with other young folks. I saw the fear and their questions about is this worth it. For some, I saw in their faces that it was about the strength of the struggle. But it's about community, about working together, about realizing those debates are making us strong.

At the G20 in Montreal, there were several, several dozen arrested. The police used horses, pepper spray, batons. Lots of young people were arrested. And it was just last year that Quebec Court of Appeal cleared everyone. One of the women who was young at the time took the microphone at the [Forum Against Police brutality, held in Montreal this past spring]and told the crowd, "I'm still here, still part of this movement, because there is this basis of support and solidarity."

If we can mutually support each other, document what has happened, and keep coming up with mechanisms to strive for real justice, we'll find out ways to get through this.

We need to be a multi-generational movement where that kind of information is shared. I was so inspired and motivated by working with a group called RAGE, a group of young people, university and college students. To have multiple generations working together, that's a strength. I hope I can get back to that tangibly. We can all offer support in different ways.

On guilt or innocence:

This is less about whether people are guilty or innocent. That's simply a verdict. What's important is how we struggle together to meet the challenges. There are plenty of times when people have been found guilty but have helped build a movement, and plenty of times people have been found not-guilty and not helped at all.Victory is not about guilt, but justice, dignity, the things we struggle for everyday. That feeling should be brought into the legal support for the people who are facing these challenges.

We're still at a very raw moment though. It's been a week, but a week is nothing. It's in the months to come that we'll see how we can come out of this stronger and more ready to face oppression.

Saturday, July 03, 2010


CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:
SUPPORT THE G20 ARRESTEES:
The legal sequellae to the mass arrests in Toronto are playing out as many call for the firing of the Toronto Police Chief and many others are calling for a public inquiry into police actions during the summit. Meanwhile the legal cases of those arrested ( Molly reminds her readers that none of these are actual rioters. They are people who were kidnapped at peaceful protests and even in the middle of the night while they slept ) are sure to drag on for many months. The Toronto Community Mobilization Network is calling for donations to help defray legal costs. Here's how you can help out.
TATATATATA
Legal Defence Fund- Updated info
More information will come soon, but here is some updated information for ways to contribute to the legal defence fund. Ways to donate:

1) Transfer funds to:

OPIRG York
transit number 00646
institution number 842
account number 3542240

Use your online bank account or contact your bank directly to transfer funds. Please put "G20 legal defence" in the memo.

2) Write a cheque

Cheques (payable to OPIRG York, with 'G20 legal defence' on the subject line) can be mailed to:

OPIRG York / Toronto Community Mobilization Network
360A Bloor Street W
PO Box 68557
Toronto, ON M5S 1X0

3) Donate by PayPal

Make sure to put 'G20 legal defence' in the "Add special instructions for the Merchant" section.
The Donation link is available in the top right hand corner of the Toronto Community Mobilization Network website .

Thursday, May 14, 2009


INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAN:
FREE THE MAYDAY DETAINEES:
Recent may day gatherings in the Islamic Republic of Iran were marred by state repression and over 150 arrests. Over 100 of these people are still being detained. Here, via the online labour solidarity site Labour Start, is a call from the International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran. (IASWI) for support of those still in prison.
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Iran: A Call for the International Campaign to Free May Day Detainees:

Workers and labour organizations in Iran and all over the world!

On May First, the International Workers’ Day, many workers and their families assembled in Laleh Park of Tehran in response to the May Day Organizing Committee (consisting of independent labour organizations in Iran). People gathered to present their demands and to commemorate the May Day; however, they as well as other visitors of the park were violently attacked by the security-intelligence forces and plain-clothes agents. These forces used all kinds of tools and equipments to assault people, as the result of which many got severely injured and more than 150 people while being beaten were taken to custody. At this time, about 100 of the above are still incarcerated.


The people who were so brutally beaten and arrested had not committed any crime. They were repressed because they wanted to commemorate their international day, along with billions of other workers around the world, and put forward the demands of million of working people of Iran. They are being oppressed because of their efforts to form independent organizations. Many of them just like thousand other workers in Iran have not been paid for months. They are now in such unbearable situation only because they raised their protest voice together.


Everyday, the families of the May Day detainees have been gathering outside courts and judicial offices but they have been badly treated and never received a clear answer from the judicial authorities. We, millions of workers and toilers and egalitarians, are responsible towards our imprisoned colleagues and their families and must not leave them on their own. We have to engage in united and immense efforts for the freedom of all prisoners.


We therefore launch a campaign for the freedom of May Day detainees and call on all workers’ and human rights’ organizations in Iran and internationally to denounce these arrests, demand unconditional freedom of all detainees and support the legitimate demands of workers in Iran, which was stipulated in their 2009 (1388) May Day resolution. All concerned organizations and individuals are urgently requested to take any necessary and possible measures, depending on their capacity, in support of the May Day detainees.


LONG LIVE CLASS SOLIDARITY OF WORKERS OF THE WORLD

Please send the report of your actions, statements and solidarity messages to campain1may@gmail.com .

May 9th, 2009 (Ordibehest 19, 1388
The May Day Organizing Committee:
• The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company
• The Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company
• The Free Union of Workers in Iran
• The Founding Committee of the Syndicate of Building 's Painters and Decoration's Workers
• The Collaborative Council of Labour Organizations and Activists
- The Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations
- The Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Free Workers’ Organizations
- A Group of Worker Activists
- The Women’s Council
• The Center for Workers’ Rights in Iran

Supported by:
The Electrical & Metal Workers' Trade Association in Kermanshah, The Association in Support of the Sacked Workers of Saqhez, The Committee in Defence of Haft Tapeh Workers, Workers of The Parris textile Factory in Sanandaj, Workers of the Shin Baft Spinning and Textile Factory in Sanandaj, Workers of Shahoo, Sanandaj Textile, Gharb Baft, Ajor Shil, Shir Paak Araa, Gunnny Baafi (Gunny Making) Sama, Fajr Flour and Nirou Rakhsh factories, Service workers of Sanandaj’s Tohid Hospital, A group of Retired Workers of Sanandaj, Workers of Farsh Gharb Company in Kermanshah, Dena Laastic (Rubber), A group of workers of Ghaa-en Cement, A group of Workers of Aslavieh
(more names to be added)
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A sample letter:
Here is the sample letter that the IASWI has presented for the use of supporters earlier this May. It can still be used, modified as the most recent facts, to send to Iranian authorities at this later date.
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Sample protest letter: Protest against repression of May Day Events in Iran:
Send your protest letters to:

To: info@leader.ir ; dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir ; info@judiciary.ir ; iran@un.int ; ijpr@iranjudiciary.org ; info@dadiran.ir ; office@justice.ir; matbuat@mfa.gov.ir; info@police.ir
Cc: info@workers-iran.org;


According to the May Day Organizing Committee in Tehran, the May Day rally and celebration in Tehran, which was organized by independent Iranian labour organizations in Laleh Park, on May 1st, 2009, was violently attacked by security and intelligence forces and many were beaten and over 150 people arrested. The intelligence forces brutally attacked the event’s participants including women and children, by baton and tear gas etc., and forced hundreds of people out of the park. May Day rallies in City of Sanandaj, amongst others, were also attacked by security forces and plain clothes officers and many were beaten and arrested.


Five days after the May Day police crackdown, about 130 women and men are still incarcerated. They are detained in unacceptable conditions in section 204 of Tehran’s Evin Prison.


We condemn these attacks on workers’ rights to organize and celebrate May Day events. We are asking for the immediate and unconditional freedom of all May Day detainees. We also demand that the government to respect workers’ rights to organize, assemble and strike, put an end to persecution of labour activists, free all jailed workers and not to interfere in the affairs of independent workers’ organizations.

Please mail your protest letter to (optional):

Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency,
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 649 58 80
**
Leader of the Islamic Republic:
Ayatollah Sayed *Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street
Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 251 7774 2228
**
Head of the Judiciary:
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice,
Ministry of Justice Building
Panzdah-Khordad Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 3390 4986 (may be difficult to reach)
**
Ambassador,
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Institutions in Geneva, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209
Geneva, Switzerland,
Fax: +41 22 733 02 03,
E-mail: mission.iran@ties.itu.int
**
CC: International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (info@workers-iran.org).

You can also send your protest letters to the Iranian Embassy in your country: click: http://www.worldembassyinformation.com/iran-embassy/index.html

Saturday, May 09, 2009



INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-MEXICO:

PROTEST REPRESSION IN CHIAPAS:
The following appeal is taken from the Anarkismo website. For further addesses and links see the end of this item. Also see the Chiapas Indymedia site for continued coverage of the situation in Chiapas.


@@@@@@@@@@
Raise your voices against repressions by the state of Chiapas, Mexico:
To members of the other campaign both national and international
To the alternative national and international media Sisters and brothers in national and international resistance movements
Cordial greetings!
We are writing you today to ask for your strong and committed support in action and solidarity in the search for justice for 8 activists unjustly and illegally imprisoned, tortured, badly treated, stigmatized by the media, and now awaiting possible incarceration for false accusations.




Presently these activists, Jerónimo Gómez Saragos, Antonio Gómez Saragos, Miguel Demeza Jiménez, Sebastián Demeza Deara, Pedro Demeza Deara and Jerónimo Moreno Deara, members of the Other Campaign and residents of Ejido San Sebastián Bachajón, in the municipality of Chilón, detained on April 13th, 2009; as well as Alfredo Gómez Moreno and Miguel Vázquez Moreno, who is a a member of the Zapatistas, and was detained on the 17the and 18th of April in the prison “El Amate” CERESS 14 in Cintalapa, Chiapas, Mexico.




In the course of the next 4 days, ending on Friday, May 8th, the state will decide whether these activists are innocent and free from the crimes which they are falsely accused or whether they will be incorporated in the corruption of this government and imprisoned. These activists, members of the Other Campaign and the Zapatistas, among the most active of those working for social change, are part of the first dignified voices to proclaim themselves against the new highway project that will connect the cities of Ocosingo and Palenque.




These projects will initiate the basic infrastructure for a series of massive projects proposed by the government and multinational corporations. These projects engage in the theft of the abundant natural resources in the region and the implementation of a large scale tourism business that will destroy the surrounding environment.




If we allow this process to continue in silence, we, the national and international community will leave open the possibility for this government to continue their crimes; allowing repressions to continue against social activists; giving permission to torture, intimidate, and detain anyone that defends their legitimate right to live without fear and demand their basic human rights; we will allow them to continue to develop massive projects that will lead to the destruction of a dignified life for any human being.




Now is an important and urgent moment to act in every way possible to achieve liberty for these activists. In the next few days any type of political act in your city or country that will call attention to the unjust detention of these activists and support this struggle for basic human rights will help. We need to pressure the state government and administration of Juan Sabines Guerrero to liberate these political prisoners. Any act is useful whether it be in group or individual; marches, letters to the government of Chiapas and the federal government of Mexico, signed petitions, calls and letters to the press…will all bring attention to these injustices.
Sincerely,
Adherents to the sixth declaration of the Lacandon jungle, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México.
Addresses for sending letters:
Lic. Juan José Sabines Guerrero
Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Chiapas
Gobernatura del Estado de Chiapas
Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas
Av. Central y Primera Oriente, Colonia Centro, C.P. 29009
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
Correo-electrónico: secparticular@chiapas.gob.mx
Fax: +52 (961) 61 88088 +52 (961) 6188056
..........
Dr. Noé Castañòn León
Secretario General de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas
Secretaría General de Gobierno
Palacio de Gobierno, 2o. piso,
Colonia Centro
Tuxtla, Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
C.P. 29000 Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.
Fax: +52 (961) 61 20663
Conmutador: + 5..., 61 8-74-60
..........
Lic. Juan Gabriel Coutiño Gómez
Tribunal Superior de Justicia
Magistrado Presidente Juan Gabriel Coutiño Gómez
Palacio de Justicia
Libramiento Norte Oriente No.2100
Fraccionamiento El BosqueC.P. 20047
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas
Tel-Fax : (52+)(961) 6178700(52+)
(96...Contacto: administrator@mail.scjn.gob.mx
..........
Lic. Carlos Alberto Bello Avendaño
Juez Segundo de Penal del Distrito Judicial de Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Carretera Tuxtla Gutiérrez ?Cintalapa
Tel- Fax: (52+) (968) 36 46 8452+)(961) 6178700
Contacto: cbelloa@poderjudicialchiapas.gob.mx
..........
RPTE. DE LA OFICINA DEL ALTO COMISIONADO PARA LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS EN MEXICO
Dirección : Alejandro Dumas #165
Col. Polanco Delegación Miguel Hidalgo
C.P 11560 México D.F
Tel: + 52 (01 55) 5061-6350
Fax: 5061-6358
e-mail: oacnudh@ohchr.org




Please send a copy to:
Centro de Derechos Humanos
Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas,
A.C.Calle Brasil 14,
Barrio Méxicanos, 29240
San Cristóbal de Las Casas,
Chiapas, México
Tel: 967 6787395, 967 6787396,
Fax: 967 6783548
Correo: accionurgente@frayba.org.mx




For more information about this case:Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Bulletins:
http://www.frayba.org.mx/index.php
CIEPACVideos and Bulletins:
http://www.ciepac.org/documento.php?id=237
Enlace Zapatista
Denouncements:
http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/denuncias/1615
http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/denuncias/1598

Thursday, March 05, 2009


INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAQ:
SOLIDARITY WITH HIMYAR SALIH IQAAL:
The following appeal is from the US based US Labor Against the War website. It concerns the case of Himyar Salih Iqaal, the leader of the Iraqi Agricultural Workers Union who was recently arrested by the Iraqi government because of his union activities.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Authorities Arrest the Leader of Agricultural Workers Union:

This disturbing news (see below) arrived today from the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI).




Please contact the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC, and copy Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, and the International Labour Organization of the U.N. to register your strong protest. Demand that Himyar Salih Iqaal be immediately released and that no harm come to him. (Find contact information below.)

*Actions such as this that harass and terrorize trade unionists are a gross
violation of human rights and international law, including the conventions on
the rights of workers of the International Labour Organization of the U.N.
Iraq is a signatory to Convention 98 on the rights to organize and
bargain.
*The new Iraqi constitution calls for the adoption of a basic labor law
that protects workers' rights. The Parliament has failed to adopt such a
law.
*The Maliki government continues to enforce Saddam Hussein's
anti-union laws and decrees adopted by the U.S. occupation authority and interim
governing authority after the overthrow of the dictatorship.




Iraq cannot claim to be on the path to a real democracy so long as workers are not free to organize, bargain and strike without government harassment, interference or control.





PS: Kindly send copies of your communications to

and Falah Alwan, President, FWCUI




On the noon of Wednesday February 25, 2009 an armed force in three vehicles attacked the house of Himyar Salih Iqaal, the leader of agricultural workers' union of FWCUI. The arrest took place in Al Dubouni district, about 70 kms south of Baghdad.




The armed force which broke into the house shattered the glass of the windows into pieces and left the furniture in a mess.




The family of Himyar says that the patrol cars looked like the "emergency forces" cars - called Al Tawari'e in Iraq.




A few months ago, Himiyar was appointed as the leader of the agricultural workers after taking upon himself the task of redistribution of the land on the agricultural workers. The land had been seized by the semi-feudal who used their authority to confiscate vast parts of the southern lands in Iraq. Himyar informed the agricultural workers about their rights to land which they should seize by themselves(All power to THIS idea-Molly).




We call for immediate release for Himyar, and the full responsibility of the authorities for the safety of Himyar.We call for the workers' organizations to stand strongly with Himyar.




Long live the workers' demands

Long live freedom and equality

Workers' Media Center
Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq FWCUI
February 27, 2009
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Samir Sumaida'ie, Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
3421 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-742-1600 X136
Fax: 202/299-9833 // 202-462-8813 // 202-462-5066
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Hillary Clinton, Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: 202-647-9572
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International Labour Organization
Washington Office
202-653-7652
FAX: 202-653-7687

Wednesday, January 21, 2009


ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS:
LEONARD PELTIER IN DANGER:
Molly came across this appeal on the Anarkismo website. For those unfamiliar with the case of Leonard Peltier's unjust imprisonment see the Leonard Pelletier Defense Committee website.
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URGENT ALERT! Leonard Peltier's safety is in jeopardy!:
Dear LP Supporters,
I am so OUTRAGED! My brother Leonard was severely beaten upon his arrival at the Canaan Federal Penitentiary. When he went into population after his transfer, some inmates assaulted him. The severity of his injuries is that he suffered numerous blows to his head and body, receiving a large bump on his head, possibly a concussion, and numerous bruises. Also, one of his fingers is swollen and discolored and he has pain in his chest and ribcage. There was blood everywhere from his injuries.

We feel that prison authorities at the prompting of the FBI orchestrated this attack and thus, we are greatly concerned about his safety. It maybe that the attackers, whom Leonard did not even know, were offered reduced sentences for carrying out this heinous assault. Since Leonard is up for parole soon, this could be a conspiracy to discredit a model prisoner.
He was placed in solitary confinement and only given one meal, this is generally done when you wont name your attackers; incidentally being only given one meal seriously jeopardizes his health because of his diabetes. Prison officials refuse to release any info to the family, but they need to hear from his supporters to protect his safety, as does President Obama. His attorneys are trying to get calls into him now. This attack on LP comes on the heels of the FBI's recent letter, prompting this attack by FBI supporters as an attempt to discredit LP as a model prisoner. Anyone who has been in the prison system knows well that if you refuse to name your attackers or file charges against them, then you lose your status as a victim and/or given points against your possible parole and labeled as a perpetrator.
It is not uncommon, in fact is quite common for the government to use Indian against Indian and they still operate under the old adage it takes an Indian to catch an Indian. In 1978, they made an attempt to assassinate him through another Indian man who was also at Marion prison with LP. But Standing Deer chose to reveal the plot to him instead of taking his life in exchange FOR A CHANCE AT FREEDOM. When Standing Deer was released in 2001, he joined the former Leonard Peltier Defense Committee as a board member. He also began to speak on Lenard's behalf until his murder six years ago today. Prior to his murder, Standing Deer confided with close friends and associates that the same man who visited him in Marion to assassinate Peltier, had came to Houston, TX and told him that he had better stay away from Peltier and anything to do with him.
We are aware that currently, the FBI is actively seeking support for his continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier and also also seeking support from Native People. So please be aware, and keep Leonard in your prayers. The FBI is apparently afraid of the impact we are having. If they will set him up to blemish his record just before a parole hearing, what will they do when it looks like his freedom will become a reality? We need to make sure that nothing happens to him again!
Please write the President, send it priority or registered mail. Email to Change.gov or email President Obama. Call your congressional representatives and write letters, not email, to them. Do what you can to get the word out to insure that LP is receiving adequate medical attention for his injuries.
I am asking you, supporters of Leonard and advocates of justice at this time to help. I don't know what else to do. Please Help!
Thank you
Betty Peltier-Solano
Executive Coordinator
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
Also call and request Leonard be treated with dignity and respect.
Canaan Federal Prison
570-488-8000
Related Link: http://www.leonardpeltier.net

Wednesday, January 14, 2009


CANADIAN POLITICS/AMERICAN POLITICS:
RETURN OMAR KHADR TO CANADA:
Omar Khadr is one of the children of the Pakistani-Canadian Khadr family whose jihadi beliefs and incredibly loud mouths (especially Khadr's foolish mother) have made them somewhat infamous in this country. With little access to the outside world in Canada Omar was "guided" from an extremely young age to become a good little Islamic soldier. Reprehensible no doubt, but little different except for opportunity from millions of fundamentalist Christian families in the USA and Canada. Omar had the misfortune to be in Afghanistan at the time of the US invasion of that country, and he had the further misfortune of being in a house where others were committing the "war crime" of fighting back when they were attacked by a country that hadn't even declared war. He was severely injured in the attack and almost killed. Later on he ended up in the Guantanamo concentration camp at the age of 15. Since then other citizens of western countries have been returned to their country of citizenship, and Khadr is the only one who remains. He has long since renounced the beliefs of his family. Civil rights activists in both the USA and Canada have urged his return to Canada. The following is the story from the American Civil Liberties Union via the online Canadian newsmagazine Straight Goods. To learn more about the Khadr case see the Wikipedia article on him.
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Review justice for Omar Khadr:
US human rights groups urge Obama to stop Guantánamo proceedings against child soldiers.

from the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and others
WASHINGTON, January 12 — Five leading human rights and civil liberties groups sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama today, urging him to suspend the Guantánamo Bay military commissions and to ensure that the upcoming trial of Omar Khadr, a 22-year-old Canadian, does not proceed. The trial is scheduled to begin on January 26, six days after the presidential inauguration.

Khadr is slated to be tried before the widely discredited military commissions for war crimes he is alleged to have committed when he was 15. There is broad global recognition that the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict is a serious abuse in itself. This is reflected in the fact that no existing international tribunal has ever prosecuted a child for war crimes.


If the trial goes ahead, Omar Khadr will become the first person in recent years to be tried by any western nation for war crimes allegedly committed as a child.

The groups — the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch — urged Obama to drop the military commission charges against Khadr and either repatriate him to Canada or, if there is evidence to support it, to prosecute him in US federal courts in accordance with international juvenile justice and fair trial standards.

The groups also called on Obama to immediately suspend pending proceedings against Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who is also charged before the military commissions for crimes allegedly committed when he was 16 or 17. A military judge twice ruled that statements Jawad made following his arrest were not admissible at trial because they were obtained through torture. However, the government has challenged the ruling and the Court of Military Commission Review in Washington, DC, is scheduled to hear arguments on Tuesday, January 13.
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LETTER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA
January 12, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama
Obama-Biden Transition Project
Washington, DC 20720
Dear President-elect Obama:
We write to you regarding Omar Khadr, the 22-year-old Canadian national slated to be tried by military commission at Guantánamo for crimes allegedly committed when he was aged 15. If the trial, now scheduled for January 26, 2009, is allowed to go forward, Omar Khadr will become the first person in recent years to be tried by any western nation for war crimes allegedly committed as a child.

We urge that upon taking office, you act quickly to suspend the military commissions, drop the military commission charges against Khadr, and either repatriate him for rehabilitation in Canada or transfer him to federal court and prosecute him in accordance with international juvenile justice and fair trial standards.
Background
United States forces captured Khadr on July 27, 2002, after a firefight in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of US Army Sergeant First Class Christopher Speer, as well as injuries to other soldiers. Khadr, who was seriously wounded, was initially detained at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. There, according to his lawyers, he was forced into painful stress positions, threatened with rape, and hooded and confronted with barking dogs.

In October 2002, US officers transported Khadr to Guantánamo, where the abusive interrogations continued, and where he has been ever since. Khadr told his lawyers that his interrogators shackled him in painful positions, threatened to send him to Egypt, Syria, or Jordan for torture, and used him as a "human mop" after he urinated on the floor during one interrogation session. He was not allowed to meet with a lawyer until November 2004, more than two years after he was first captured.

During his third year of detention, Khadr was charged with murder and other related crimes under the first set of military commissions authorized by President Bush. Those charges were dismissed when the Supreme Court ruled the commissions unlawful in the case of Hamdan v Rumsfeld. In 2007, under newly authorized commissions, the United States government charged him with murder, attempted murder in violation of the laws of war, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism and spying. He faces a possible life prison sentence.
Violations of human rights and juvenile justice standards
Khadr's prolonged detention in Guantánamo Bay contravenes the United States' binding legal obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and international juvenile justice standards. Although these international standards allow for detention of juveniles only as a last resort and require prompt determination of juvenile cases, Khadr was detained for more than two years before being provided access to an attorney, and for more than three years before being charged before the first military commission. After more than six years the lawfulness of this detention still has not been judicially reviewed on the merits.

Further, despite international standards requiring treatment of children in accordance with their age, as well as segregation of children and adults, Khadr has been housed with adult detainees, even when other child detainees were being housed together in Guantánamo's Camp Iguana. The abusive interrogations and prolonged detention in solitary confinement violated both international juvenile justice standards and general humane treatment standards, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and other binding prohibitions against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Failure to comply with obligations under the Optional Protocol
International law requires the United States to recognize the special situation of children who have been recruited or used in armed conflict. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict ("Optional Protocol"), which the United States ratified in 2002, explicitly prohibits the recruitment or use of children under the age of 18 in armed conflict by non-state armed groups and requires state parties to criminalize such conduct. It also requires the rehabilitation of former child soldiers within a signatory's jurisdiction, including "all appropriate assistance for their physical and psychological recovery and their social reintegration."

Yet in its dealings with Khadr, the US government has ignored its legal obligations under the Optional Protocol. For years, Khadr was denied access to education, vocational training, counseling, or any family contact. Instead, he was held in isolation and abused.

Last May, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which oversees compliance with the Optional Protocol, criticized the United States' treatment and military prosecutions of children held at Guantánamo, and called on the US government to treat children in its custody in accordance with international juvenile justice standards.
Military trial moving ahead
Despite widespread criticism of the military commission system and its treatment of Omar Khadr, the outgoing Bush administration has continued to move his case toward trial. Motions hearings are now set for January 19, with a trial date scheduled for January 26. Unless you act quickly to suspend the commissions, Khadr will become the first person in recent history to be prosecuted for war crimes allegedly committed as a child, before a system that you have consistently criticized as "flawed."

As you are aware, you voted against the legislation passed by Congress in October 2006 to authorize the commissions, calling it a "betrayal of American values." When charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the 9/11 co-conspirators were announced in February 2008, you criticized that decision on the grounds that "[t]hese trials are too important to be held in a flawed military commission system" and that the men should be tried in federal court or by courts-martial, in order to "demonstrate our commitment to the rule of law." Just five months ago, after the conviction of Salim Hamdan, you reiterated your criticism of the commission process, stating it is "time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and our Uniform Code of Military Justice."

You have also co-sponsored legislation (the Child Soldier Prevention Act, S1175, which was subsequently incorporated into the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, and the Child Soldier Accountability Act, S2135) designed to help end the use of child soldiers. These measures, both signed into law in 2008, commit the US government to expand services to rehabilitate child soldiers and reintegrate them back into their communities, and allow the United States to prosecute the individuals responsible for the recruitment of children as soldiers.

Now is the chance to ensure America's commitment to the rule of law by putting an immediate halt to Omar Khadr's trial. If there is evidence that Khadr committed a federal crime, he should be transferred to a federal court and prosecuted in accordance with international juvenile justice and fair trial standards; if not, he should be repatriated for rehabilitation and integration.

This is also the course you should take with the other known juvenile detainee, Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan, who has been in Guantánamo for six years, reportedly subjected to torture, sleep deprivation, and other abuse and charged with attempted murder by the military commission for acts allegedly committed when he was either 16 or 17 years old. No trial date is currently set in his case.

We hope that you will act quickly on this matter in the interest of justice, protection of human rights, and the rule of law.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
Amnesty International
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
The letter from the groups to President-elect Barack Obama is below and can also be found online at the page linked below.
More information on the ACLU's work to close Guantánamo can be found online, please follow the link below.
Related addresses:
URL 1: http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/38285res20090112.html

Friday, December 05, 2008


INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-POLAND:
SOLIDARITY WITH TOMEK WILKOSZEWSKI:
The following appeal for funds for class war prisoner Tomek Wilkoszewski comes via the Anarkismo website.
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Poland: Anarchist Solidarity appeal for contributions:
by Anarchist Solidarity anarchistsolidarity at yahoo dot com

Appeal for support for prisoner Tomek Wilkoszewski and for those people sentenced for their part in the 2005 demo against the Council of Europe.
Please distribute widely / forward to comrades!
Anarchist Solidarity would like to appeal for contributions for the following;
1. Tomek Wilkoszewski
Tomek's case is well-known. http://www.tomek.most.org.pl/ He was sentenced to 15 years, has been in prison since 1996 and has been trying to get early release. He would like to appeal for release again soon.

In 2006, we made the last appeal for funds for Tomek. Enough money was collected for his last appeal and there was even some extra, which we are keeping in a fund for when he is released. Unfortunately, we were informed by ABC that all the money they had collected for Tomek has already been spent so we are going to pay for legal fees from the fund we have for when he is released. This means that there is no money left over for Tomek, should he be released. We would not like to see this situation.

It is important at this time to make a wider appeal for this as we also have some other cases pending or which need help now. Such as:
2. In Poland, it is illegal to collect money to pay for fines of people who have been sentenced. So please remember, we are NOT collecting for this. We are collecting for other things, but just thought this is worth mentioning. Because if we had a lot of money personally, which we don't, we'd have to give it to these people.

Today in Warsaw the case of the arrested at the demo against the Council of Europe was finally finished.

In 2005 the demo was held. 11 people were arrested. 1 had the case dismissed. One person, Adam Pazuryna, had his cased separated and was ultimately found not guilty. Today there was a verdict for 9 people. 2 were found not guilty but seven were found guilty. They were given probation and fines. Plus court costs. In general, quite high. Out of the reach of all of them. Remember, they are not allowed, by Polish law, to collect money publicly to cover these fines, although of course their friends and comrades can help out.

We are appealing now to people who could show some solidarity to make a contribution for this antirepression work.
The bank account number is:
Jakub Gawlikowski
PL05 1140 2004 0000 3702 4238 2269
BRE Bank S.A. Retail Banking, al. Mickiewicza 10, 90-050 Łódź
BIC/SWIFT: BREXPLPWMUL
SORT CODE: 11402004
Write "for Tomek"

Saturday, November 08, 2008


INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-JAPAN:
ARRESTED ANARCHISTS FREED:
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The three Japanese anarchists arrested during a "Reality Tour" to see the mega-mansion of the Japanese PM(see previous items here at Molly's Blog) are now free after 11 days detention. Here is the notice from the Asian Anarchist Network.
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Hi there,
The three were freed from the 11-days detention just an hour ago.
Millions thanks for your support and action.
love and solidarity,
catbloc

Saturday, September 15, 2007


RUSSIAN COMRADES FREED:
According to the Polish Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej the two Russian anarchist comrades who were arrested on false charges over a train bombing in Russia have been released from prison. they are still forbidden to leave Russia. Their release came soon after a written statement by Shamil Basayev and his confederates claiming responsibility for the terrorist act. Despite the fact that this Islamist group claimed responsibility soon after the action the Russian government kept the anarchists in custody until the claim was made in writing. For background see past posts on this blog in August on 'The Frame Up in Russia'

Friday, August 31, 2007


MORE ON THE FRAME-UP IN RUSSIA:
As reported on Molly's Blog on August 25th two St. Petersburg anarchists have been held in prison in Novogorod on suspicion of participation in a bomb attack on the Moscow to St. Petersburg rail line last August 13th. The anarchists arrested are suspected of collaborating with Chechen separatists in planting the bombs, an act of stupidity that so gross that its like has only been seen amongst anarchists in the USA who collaborate and support minor Maoist criminals in order to satisfy their guilt ridden 'politically correct revolutionary angst'. To date such nonsense hasn't been seen in the civilized world outside of the USA, though certain 'Autonomists' while not really anarchists trend towards such nonsense in Europe. The anarchists of St. Petersburg have declared in unequivocal terms that their comrades are innocent and that such acts are contrary to the central premises of anarchism. Even the Russian authorities have much more likely suspects as laid out by First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Bastrykin on August 24th in The Moscow Times where he blamed "nationalists" ie fascists for this provocation.
Yet the two anarchists, Andrey Kalyonov and Denis Zeleniuk, are still held in prison in Novgorod. Kalyonov has ended his hunger strike due to the deterioration of his health as of August 29th. The anarchists of St. Petersburg held a solidarity demonstration on August 26th, and photos of this action are available at http://piter.indymedia.ru/ru/node/3137 . About 50 people participated. This action was followed by another picket in Moscow on August 28th where 6 people were arrested and spent the night in detention. On the 29th of August Moscow police prevented anarchists from holding another picket to publicize the case. Another action is planned for St. Petersburg on Sept 2nd.
For further information on this case see:
Russian contacts that may be able to provide info are:

Saturday, August 25, 2007


FRAME UP IN RUSSIA:
On August 13th a bomb exploded on the rail line from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the Nevskiy Express, near Novgorod. Sixty people were injured, six of them seriously, and 800 meters of track was destroyed. The response of the Russian authorities was chaotic. At first they blamed Chechen groups, then Russian nationalists (ie fascists). Eventually they arrested a key suspect, a Chechen named Khasan Didigov, but their confusion didn't end there. They reviewed who this man had been in contact with and found that he had visited anarchists in the St. Petersburg area. Two St. Petersburg anarchists, Andrei Kalyonov and Denis Zelenyuk, were arrested on August 16th and accused of participation in the attack. One of the accused, Kalyonov, has been on hunger strike since his arrest to protest the unjust accusation. The pair are being held in jail in Novgorod.
The Anarchist Initiatives of St. Petersburg group have issued a statement categorically denying any anarchist involvement in the bombing. They say that, "anarchist views do not allow violence against innocent people" and they provide witnesses who state that the two comrades were elsewhere when the bombing occurred. The Russian comrades suggest that the police may have planted items that could be incriminating in Kolyonov's home, and they also suggest that there may be other suspects in the bombing ie the Russian security force, the FSB. As in many other situations, both in Russia and elsewhere (here in Canada, for instance, at Montebello), the secret police of a country have either encouraged or actually carried out violent acts for political purposes. The story was old when the first vertebrates crawled onto land in the Devonian Age. The full statement of the St. Petersburg anarchists can be read at the link above. This has been published in the English language section of the Russian anarchist website Avtonom. Stay tuned there for further developments.
This incident is particularly relevant as it comes at the time of an anniversary of another famous frame-up, the Sacco and Vanzetti case (see yesterday in this blog). The potential involvement of the Russian security forces is something that will never be mentioned in the "official press" in Russia unless there is 1)overwhelming proof and 2)the providers of such proof are not murdered before they can make it public. If you want to read a mass media account of the bombing see http://russiatoday.ru/news/news/12406 and also http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/12852 . As mentioned above the statement of the St. Petersburg anarchists can be seen on Avtonom. For an informative information piece on the situation see the Australian anarchist blog Slackbastard. This blog gives further information about the case.
There are a couple of A-infos items about the arrests. One from today, August 25th, tells of an initiative to set up an Anarchist Black Cross of St. Petersburg for the expenses of their defense. It also announces a picket that will occur tomorrow in downtown St. Petersburg. Another one from yesterday tells more about the circumstances of the arrests. From reading this Molly has formed an opinion that the only thing the two anarchists were guilty of when they were approached by the police was arrogance and showing off. Molly is, of course, very much against such play-acting, but it is hardly a criminal offense. The "connect the dots" method of police "investigation" often leads to a wildly wrong conclusion if you merely follow the lines. It is entirely possible to implicate a large majority of the world's population if you follow simple chance meetings. But sometimes such diversion is exactly what is wanted by the powers that be. stay tuned to Avtonom and A-infos for further news.