Anarchist black cross at the London anarchist bookfair

The Brighton and Bristol Anarchist Black Cross prisoner support groups will both have stalls at the London anarchist bookfair, this Saturday 24 October. We’ll be alongside the comrades from the Campaign against prison slavery, and Haven Distribution books to prisoners. Come along and have a chat with us, find out more and pick up some interesting info and prisoner’s details.

Brighton and Bristol are also hosting the following workshops:

1pm @ room EB2: Too Many Prisons, Not Enough Justice
1st workshop – explore the factors that increasingly contribute simultaneously to the criminalisation and victimisation of our communities, and our activists.

2pm @ Skeel lecture hall: Greece – after the December 2008 insurrection
Greek speaker – after the highs of last December, struggles in Greece continue at a level unheard of in the UK. They do so in the face of a massive counter-offensive by the allied forces of the Greek state, capital and the fascists. Up date of the situation on the streets, and how the movements are responding.

4pm @ EB4a: Anarchists for Prison Abolition
2nd workshop – discuss ways of preventing the criminalisation and over-policing of our communities and ways of opposing the growing “prison society”.
Please arrive on time each time!

Also 31 October & 1 November in Brighton at The Cowley Club – Gathering Against The Prison Society
On the evening of the 31 October there’ll be a fundraising social at the Cowley Club featuring Bristol legends Spanner and Jesus Bruiser, plus Crowzone, and DJ’s from Terra Audio.

EDO Decommissioners update and correction

The 2 Bristol EDO Decommissioners arrested near Manchester on Saturday have been released today, Monday 19 October!

Along with the woman from Brighton who was also arrested for alleged breach of bail, they were in court today in Oldham (apologies, it was not Brighton as we expected). However it seems the prosecution offered no evidence and/or ran out of time, so the case was dismissed. So we can only presume it was some straight up harassment of the 3 defendants by the state, because lets face it if they really wanted to nail them they would have tried a bit harder. But thats good news for now, all 3 should be safely tucked up in their homes by now, getting some well earned rest. Lets be a bit more careful out there next time folks…

Repression and Resistance in Socialist Greece

The election of PASOK (Greek socialist party, think NewLabour, but controlled by a family dynasty) in the recent snap general election has, so far, changed absolutely nothing in Greece. The pattern of state repression, and resistance by workers and other social movements, continues.

On a turnout of 71% on 4 October, PASOK got 44%, which means about 160 seats in parliament out of 300. The commies got 21 seats, and a radical left coalition 13 seats. Papandreou, the PASOK leader, took power on 8 October, announcing his government were ‘antiauthoritarians in power’! On the 9 October the police and security forces launched a 3 day invasion of the radical Athens area known as Exarcheia. This saw thousands stopped, searched, humiliated and brutalised on the streets and in bars, clubs and cafes, with well over 100 detained. The 10th saw a protest march in the area. The 8th had seen a smallscale sabotage attack against banks and a fascist bookshop. At the final rally before the election of the soon to be outgoing right-wing Prime Minster, a bomb went off near to him, allegedly planted by radicals. On the 9th October a Pakistani immigrant ‘without papers’ died of wounds inflicted on him by police after being tortured in a police station between 26 to 28 September. He had been wrongfully arrested…but without papers he had no rights, and no right to healthcare. He is one of many migrants to die in the last year. This is life on the streets of Athens, and all major towns in Greece, day after day after day. Resistance, repression, resistance, repression.

Solidarity helps set Greek hungerstriker free

Thanks to solidarity mobilizations, Theodoros Iliopoulos is free at last! Free after 49 days of hunger strike. The last prisoner from the December 2008 insurrection in Greece is now free.

Prisoner support – cafe and film night in Easton

Bristol ABC cafe & film night – A legacy of torture & an introduction to insurrection

Bristol’s Big Greek Solidarity Benefit – this Saturday

Viva La Resisdance – a fundraiser for defendants and prisoners in Greece resulting from the revolt that commenced last December – this Saturday, 28 March, in central Bristol.

Scotland Yard arrives in Athens, as another prisoner dies in custody – Greece at boiling point again

At the request of the tottering Greek government, a delegation from Scotland Yard arrived in Athens on March 16, to help the Greek state in its efforts to suppress the continuing revolt that ignited when a fascist cop killed a teenager on 6 December last year.

Bristol prisoner support meeting

Bristol ABC Prisoner Support – Regular monthly discussion and letter writing meeting

A Greek prisoner writes, and other news from Greece

Letter from Ilias Nikolau, Amfissa prison, 19th January 2009. First published here, with background info.

Love Freedom? Dance against the state!

A benefit night for the Bristol EDO Decommissioners Defendants support campaign AND prisoners of the ongoing Greek rebellion.