Turkey: vegan anarchist prisoner Osman Evcan on hunger strike again

Who is Osman Evcan?

Osman Evcan who was born on 1959 in Samsun is an anarchist prisoner who spent his last 23 years in prison. İn 1992 he was sentenced to 30 years in prison with the charges of being a member of a leftist terrorist group and robbery. He was also imprisoned for 9 years between 1980-1989. Since Osman adopted anarchist ideas in 2003, he also became vegan and supports animal liberation struggles.

Osman Evcan was imprisoned in many different prisons all over the country during his conviction, he built his life fighting against authoritarian violence and especially the violence and oppression which is a systemic part of the prison’s hierarchical structure, and he still continues his fight against prison’s oppressive mentality, without giving an inch, aspiring to the right standards for anarchist, vegan, libertarian individuals.

Osman’s first barnburner act was his hunger strike in 2011 for vegan food to be available in prison which lasted 42 days. During his hunger strike the anarchists, animal liberationists from all over the World and in Turkey supported Osman’s fight to access vegan food in prison. After 42 days of hunger strike the government gave in and made regulations for the vegan and vegetarian prisoners: “Vegan or vegetarian prisoners demands will be accepted as long as its limited by subsistence
allowance”. After this victory of all anarchists, animal liberationists and political prisoners, Osman continued to be in the anarchist struggle during his time in prison. He has supported the LGBT, Animal Liberation, women rights, anti imperialism struggles outside prison and he made hunger strikes to protest the animal massacre during each ‘feast of sacrifice’ every year for 3 days, he wrote articles to support nature, ethnic and different identities against government’s and comprador bourgeoisie’s raids and he still continues his political fight as much as he can from prison.

Osman Evcan was convicted of being a member of a leftist terrorist group, he self-criticized himself by saying that both capitalist and socialist system forms for being are statist and colonist formations. To quote his own words: “Veganism is not only a capitalism contrast it also includes socialism contrast. Veganism is civilization contrast. Veganism has an all out attitude against technological destruction, violence, human species alienation to nature and to itself, ecological pillage, pollution, colonialism, global warming. Act of civilization has a common history with statist forms of organizations. The idea of a state grown up process starting from primitive-simple history ongoing modernization continuum for thousands of years and transforming to nation state is a result of civilization. We cant separate This ongoing, mutually reinforcing facts that produce each other, from each other. Veganism is a radical attitude against all…”

Osman Evcan is still in Kocaeli no 1 high security prison. The pressure against him continues to increase. After his hunger strike for 33 days on June 2015 he took vegan food supplies one step further and he gained the right to get vegan food from outside the prisons. The prison administration usurped this gain due to arbitrarily reasons. Osman Evcan continues his indefinite hunger strike since 10 November 2015.

ABC İSTANBUL

Write to the comrade:

Osman Evcan:
Kocaeli 1 Nolu F Tipi Cezaevi
A-7-21
Kandıra / KOCAELİ
TURKEY

Support Maria & Ed Running for Bristol Anarchist Black Cross

Please support this fundraiser!

DONATE HERE: http://gogetfunding.com/maria-ed-running-for-bristol-anarchist-black-cross/

We are running Downton Half Marathon nr. Salisbury on 29th November (details here – you can come and cheer on the day if you like / have no life) to raise money for Bristol Anarchist Black Cross. ABC do very important work that cannot continue with support. https://bristolabc.wordpress.com/

For the uninitiated:

The Anarchist Black Cross was originated in Tsarist Russia to organise aid for political prisoners. In the late 1960s the organisation resurfaced in Britain, where it first worked to aid prisoners of the Spanish resistance fighting the dictator Franco’s police. Now it has expanded and groups are found in many countries around the world. We support anarchist and other class struggle prisoners, fund-raise on behalf of prisoners in need of funds for legal cases or otherwise, and organise demonstrations of solidarity with imprisoned anarchists and other prisoners. – Brighton ABC

Bristol ABC aim to practically support prisoners by:

• writing letters, sending books and magazines, and where possible or needed financial contributions to those inside;
• publicising specific prisoners cases, campaigns and struggles;
• supporting and publicising other individuals, campaigns and resources involved in prisoner solidarity and anti-prison work

So please donate if you can. The page will stay live until Monday 30th November.

Cheers

Maria & Ed

Fundraiser for Eric King raises over £150

A fundraiser for anarchist prisoner Eric King took place in Bristol last night. Over £150 was raised through a vegan dinner, raffle and donated sweets and cider! Thank you so much for everyone’s support. Read more about Eric’s case here.

There was a full stall of anti-prison literature, as well as more information about Eric’s case including some of his moving poems. People wrote cards and took the solidarity picture below.

A message to Eric: You are in our hearts. Solidarity from the west country! We will keep fighting until these prisons are destroyed and until all are free. Thank you for your inspiration and courage. We won’t abandon you.

To get involved in Bristol ABC – like cooking, helping out at events like this – please email bristol_abc@riseup.net

Indefinite detention in Germany

Below is a letter from long-term prisoner Thomas Meyer-Falk about a friend of his who is in indefinite detention in Germany. For more information write to:

Thomas Meyer-Falk
c/o JVA (SV)
Hermann-Herderstr. 8
D 79104 Freiburg
GERMANY

www.freedom-for-thomas.de
freedomforthomas.wordpress.com

Woman imprisoned for sex without a condom

In Germany in 2014 a 29 year old woman was sentenced to four years in prison for having sex without using a condom. Because the court deemed her a threat to public safety, Preventative Detention – indefinite imprisonment – was added.

The story:

Jaqueline was a young woman who was in love with life, she hung around the surroundings of a biker club and had a few partners. Years before she had caught HIV, but was taking medication for it and therefore hadn’t become ill.

Then Jaquline’s own mother, when she found out that her daughter had been having sex with men, reported her to the police.

The trial:

The district court found Jaqueline guilty of “attempting serious physical injury”: having sex without using a condom. According to the courts this was a highly dangerous “treatment” (the technical word in German law), and since she had done the same thing before, Preventative Detention was added.

History of Preventative Detention:

In 1933 the Nazis passed a law against people who were identified as “threats to society”, which allowed the state to keep someone behind bars for life after this person had finished his or her sentence (freedomforthomas.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/nazi-law-in-germany-2013/). After WWII, in 1954, the GDR (East Germany)’s High Courts repealed the law that had created PD because it was an “original Nazi code”. The courts in FRG (West Germany) never had such moral doubts. In Spain, the constitutional court has overruled a similar law, because it violates the rule saying that no-one should be convicted twice for the same offence.

No appeal!

The Federal High Court and the Federal Constitutional Court both refused to overrule the district court’s decision, so now Jaqueline, who is only 30 years old, faces a lifetime behind bars for only having had sex without a condom. No-one was injured, no-one was harmed, no-one was infected with HIV. Lifetime, maybe, behind bars – based on a law which was passed by the Nazis in 1933.

Visions of Abolition Film Showing in Bristol

Support Mister Blue!

About Mister Blue:

Mister Blue is a comrade imprisoned in Germany following an action in the Hambacher Forest. They are accused of bodily harm against a private security guard by biting, as well as trespassing, disturbance of public services and resisting his arrest. He still refuses to give his ID and is therefore qualified as being a danger of escape. Most recent information from a lawyer says they were beaten very brutally by the police and security guards.

What you can do:

• Send mail to 1uJS932/15 JVA Aachen; Krefelder Strasse 251; 520708 Aachen.
• Send money to Mister Blue. Contact hambacherforst@riseup.net for details.
• Get to the Forest and resist the cutting season! http://hambachforest.blogsport.de/join-in/

About Hambacher Forest & the Action

On October 7th a conveyor belt at the Hambach open cast lignite mine has been blocked. One activist has been released from custody, another is still being held. On 8th the prison judge ordered that the defendant must be held until their trial. The person has been injured in a way that she/he left the conveyor belt “voluntarily“ preventing an eviction. Just one compa, Jus, has been released and they catch another.

For the latest updates visit: http://hambachforest.blogsport.de/

The result of the treatment: a sprait rist hematomas and read eyes. Mister Blue was abused by RWE private security personal, Police refused medical treatment.

Fundraiser for Eric King

Anarchist Prisoner Eric King Update: Trial Continuance and Mailroom Censorship

From http://SupportEricKing.wordpress.com

We have just received word that Eric’s trial is likely to be continued yet again. Eric’s public defender has entered a motion to continue his trial date until March 8th, so that we can have more time to prepare for trial or otherwise resolve the case. We expect that the judge will grant the motion.

As you may know, it’s been over a year since Eric’s arrest and pre-trial incarceration at CCA Leavenworth (a private prison operated by the Corrections Corporation of America) in Leavenworth, Kansas. Although for Eric and the rest of us it feels like it’s been a very long time, for a trial of this caliber, it’s pretty standard to spend a couple years in prison awaiting trial.

Many warm thank you’s to all those who have been making preparations to come to Kansas City for the trial. We hope to be able to give plenty of notice so that people can make clear plans to attend trial and show their support. We hope that, should Eric’s case go trial, friends and comrades will fill the courtroom.

We are also happy to report that Eric’s mail situation seems to be improving! Thanks to all of the efforts of people across the country to pressure the CCA mailroom to abide by the laws it purport to uphold. Although we dream of a world without “laws” or “rights,” in the meantime we’ll do what we can to keep our friend’s mail out of the trash. Thanks to all those who were willing to join in the effort!

For now, you can help by writing a letter to Eric, hosting a letter-writing night for him, donating money to his legal fund or buying a t-shirt. The road before us is long and expensive and it’s going to take a lot of support to get through it. Again, many thanks to all of you who have continued to show your support throughout this arduous process.

Link to Eric’s Fundraiser
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0yo

Eric’s Address:
Eric King
27090045
CCA Leavenworth
100 Highway Terrace
Leavenworth, KS 66048

Winter Warmer 2015

Italy: Support Silvia, Costa, and Billy, Awaiting New Trial

From contra info

On July 17th 2015, the preliminary hearing against Silvia Guerini, Costantino ‘Costa’ Ragusa and Luca ‘Billy’ Bernasconi took place in Turin, Italy. The three have been previously arrested and jailed for several years in Switzerland, accused of having organised an act of sabotage against a nanotechnology research centre of IBM, under construction at the time. On April 15th 2010, they were stopped and arrested by Swiss police who searched their car and found explosives, as well as leaflets claiming the imminent action under the name ‘Earth Liberation Front Switzerland’.

They have now been indicted according to the article 110 of the Italian penal code, which is used to punish offenses of criminal association. Particularly they’re accused of having conspired together to plan the action in Italy, of having illegally obtained the materials needed to assemble and prepare explosive devices, and of having smuggled such devices between the Italian and Swiss border. All charges include the aggravating circumstance of the ‘purpose of terrorism’, historically used in political trials in Italy to obtain long pretrial detention, and longer prison sentence if found guilty.

[call for support below]

The judge at the preliminary hearing accepted the thesis proposed by the deputy prosecutor Enrico Arnaldi Di Balme and found irrelevant that Billy, Costa and Silvia have already been tried and convicted in the Swiss Confederation.

The trial will commence on January 13th 2016 in Turin. Let’s use it as an occasion to relaunch the struggle against environmental destruction.

In view of the trial, the three comrades are facing a hard time and need to cover several legal expenses, so they’ve shared a call for support. Any help is much appreciated. Donations can be made to: conto corrente postale intestato a (postal current account payable to) Marta Cattaneo, IBAN: IT11A0760111100001022596116, BIC: BPPIITRRXXX. Please specify donation reason: solidarietà a Silvia Billy Costa (solidarity with Silvia Billy Costa).

More info on the case and updates (in Italian):
silviabillycostaliberi.noblogs.org