Russia: Well-known Russian anti-fascist, Alexey Gaskarov, arrested

via Autonomous Action

On sunday, the 28th of April 2013, a well-known Russian anti-fascist, Alexey Gaskarov, was arrested in Moscow. He is a member of the Coordination Council of Russian opposition. The investigation committee of the Russian Federation has accused him of having pacticipated in riots and violence against representative of authorities on the 6th of May 2012, when OMON (Russian riot police) attacked a peaceful demonstration.

The 6th of May was one day prior to Putin’s inauguration, and a mass demonstration had been called by the opposition. The winter and spring of 2011-2012 saw the biggest wave of political demonstrations in Russia in almost 20 years, as tens of thousands of people went out on the streets to protest election fraud. The 6th of May was also the first time authorities moved to crush these protests. According to the opposition more than 600 people were arrested, and as of now 28 people have been charged, who have been remanded, been put under house arrest or have been forced to emigrate.

On that day, Alexey Gaskarov was beaten up by OMON with batons and boots. He filed a complaint against the officers who beat him up, but nobody was charged. Now, a year after, and just a few days before the anniversary of the 6th of May demonstration, as Alexey was about to be at the head of the column of the left-wing and anti-fascist bloc, he has had a set of absurd charges brought against him and has been arrested.

Alexey Gaskarov was born on the 18th of June 1985, and has been politically active since his school years.

Gaskarov gained fame in the summer and autumn of 2010, when during the protest campaign against the destruction of the Khimki forest, he was  arrested along with Maxim Solopov and was accused of orchestrating an attack by 300-400 young anti-fascists, who supported the environmental struggle, against the administration of the city of Khimki.  In autumn 2010, Alexey Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov were released from prison, thanks to a massive international campaign for the “Khimki Hostages”. In the summer of 2011, Gaskarov was cleared of all charges.

Since the beginning of the mass demonstrations against the falsification of the elections in Russia in December of 2011, Alexey Gaskarov has been an active participant. He was one of the speakers in the biggest of the demonstrations, on the 24th of December 2011 in Sakharov street in Moscow, and was in charge of the security for that meeting, who fought back against the Neo-Nazi provocations.

He is being held in the police jail of Petrovka 38, awaiting his appointment in court at 11am on the 29th of April 2013 at the Basmanniy courthouse in Moscow. Pending court decision, Gaskarov will be remanded or released.

Additional information:

• gaskarov.info@gmail.com
• https://twitter.com/gaskarov_info
• Lawyer of Gaskarov, Svetlana Sidorkina: +7 (926) 557-90-16

International Week of Solidarity with Anti-Fascist Prisoner Jock Palfreeman

via Indymedia UK

A call out for solidarity with Anti-fascist prison resister Jock Palfreeman

We are urgently calling all anarchist, anti-fascist and other anti-authoritarian left wing groups to act in solidarity with Jock Palfreeman (full story of his case is in the attached appeal below). Jock has already served several years of his 20 year sentence in Bulgaria. He actively works towards organising his fellow prisoners and highlights cases of repression by the prison authorities. He is one of the founders of the Bulgarian Prisoners Association. In the last few years, the response to his imprisonment and calls for solidarity with him from the anarchist and anti-fascist movement have been underwhelming. He needs more groups and individuals to join the campaign for his freedom. His family and some liberals have been organising support for him and trying to raise money for his fine; but Jock was always asking for a more direct kind of solidarity other than just politely asking the authorities to be nice. He needs people to not only constantly put pressure on the Bulgarian authorities in the form of letters and emails, but also organise demos and pickets outside embassies and/or any other Bulgarian institutions, generally spreading awareness about his case.

Please keep publishing information about Jock on your blogs, websites and social media. We hope you will all join the upcoming International Week of Solidarity with Jock Palfreeman on 22nd-28th April, and use your creativity and imagination to express solidarity.

Brighton Anarchist Black Cross
http://www.brightonabc.org.uk

International Week of Solidarity with Jock Palfreeman – 22nd-28th April

Jock Palfreeman is an Australian who, on the 27th December 2007, on a night out in Sofia, Bulgaria; had the courage to stand up against a group of fascist hooligans. Witnessing the fascists chasing and attacking two young Roma boys, Jock ran to the boys’ aid. He did his best to keep the fascists at bay but they ended up turning on and attacking him. Left with nowhere to run, Jock had no choice but to defend himself. Andrey Monov, one of the racist gang, was stabbed and later died. Another, Anton Zahariev was injured. The Roma boys ran away. Jock has since been tried and sentenced for murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and has been given a fine running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Andrey Monovs father is well known in Bulgaria and at his funeral there were a mixture of judges, police and politicians. Jock’s trial was (not surprisingly) a complete sham – yet another example of corruption, secret handshakes in the judicial system and media bias. The prosecutions case was built on the witness statements made by the other racists that were part of the attacking group, all claiming that Jock randomly attacked and chased them, with the intent of killing somebody. Key people and possible witnesses for Jocks defence were never interviewed by police and CCTV footage from the scene miraculously went missing. Many of the statements made at the time were different to the statements submitted to the court by the prosecution., while Jocks statement has remained consistent from the night in question.

Solidarity, Food and Films

French Antifa Documentary ‘Chasseurs De Skins’ @ Kebele Cafe Sun 25th March