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

Political prisoner list June 2011

Bristol ABC’s monthly prisoner list is now back on track and today we are publishing the list for June 2011. Download your copy here:
open office version – Prisoner list_June2011
PDF version – Prisoner list_June2011
We make an effort to keep this info a correct as possible. However if you have any verifiable additions or corrections please contact us by email at bristol_abc[AT]riseup.net
With an increase in political prisoners internationally it is becoming difficult to keep up with changes and moves. We are therefore slowly moving towards a list that provides good links to further information in countries, whilst still highlighting some cases. Here are some cases worth highlighting:

26 March legal & arrest update

The following info was published on the Freedom Press website today, having been sourced from the Met Police. Legal support from GBC and LDMG have been at courts and on the phone getting hold of defendants. There are likely to be more arrests and more people charged. Equally, many charges may be dropped, and even when they aren’t and the case goes to court, many people will be found not guilty. If you are arrested, and charged, don’t panic and don’t be scared. The police want you to be frightened and afraid, they want you to stop protesting and fighting. Don’t let them win – there is plenty of support available, make use of it.

Summary of arrests from March 26th

147 people charged with offences:
138 people charged with aggravated trespass in connection with the incident at Fortnum & Mason. Due to appear on various dates at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court  (first being 9th May)
3 people charged with criminal damage
2 people charged with assaulting a police officer
1 person charged with S4 Public Order Act (threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour)
1 person charged with being drunk and disorderly

Solidarity needed with defendants from London anti-cuts protests

The magnificent protests that rocked London on Saturday 26 March will have at least one major downside – mass arrests, with more to follow. Those arrested deserve and need our support.

So far it seems just over 200 people have been arrested, mainly, but not all, at either the Fortnum & Mason shop occupation, or later at night in Trafalgar Square when the cops kettled a party crowd of protesters. Most, but not all, are now out on either police or court bail. A few have taken a caution, a few released without charge, a few remain in custody. No doubt as cops trawl cctv and photo footage in the next days & weeks there will be more arrests.

27 March picket of Charing X cop shop

If you or someone you know has been arrested and you haven’t had legal advice yet, then get it fast. Ring the legal & arrest support helpline on 07946 541 511, or if you got indpendent legal advice elsewhere contact them anyway so they have your details – they may be able to help you anyway.

Prisoner support newsletter and updates

January 2011 finds us enthused by recent events around the world that point to the coming year as being a potentially significant one in the struggle against capital and oppression. Events in Belarus, Algeria and a little more successfully in Tunisia, show that many ordinary people can only be pushed so far before fighting back. Despite 2 decades of dictatorship and tightly controlled police states, and despite the consequences of resisting, people in these 3 countries have shown amazing bravery and determination.

We remain enthused by the actions of students and youth in late 2010 across the UK, into Italy, and spreading across Europe, giving a small indication that the ongoing 2 year rebellion in Greece is slowly spreading an anti-capitalist virus that the state has no final antidote to. Encouraging in these struggles have been displays of solidarity with people arrested, and a very fast learning curve amongst protesters of the need for legal info & support.

Interview with the Campaign Against Prison Slavery

Recently Joe Black of CAPS, one of the most knowledgeable anarchists involved in prisoner solidarity work, was interviewed for the lefty rag Solidarity (organ of trot group Workers Liberty). Its a wide ranging interview covering diverse prison and prisoner-resistance related topics, and well worth a read, so we’ve cut and pasted into our blog below. You can read the original online version here if you think you can handle exposure to WL! We also recommend a visit to the CAPS website where there is plenty of info, facts and politics.

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:

Why prisoner support is important

Prisoner support should be an essential facet of any anarchist’s political activities; yet our prisoner support groups attract so little actual support from our fellow anarchists. Why is this?

The following article has been written by comrades from Brighton ABC, with input from other anarchists including us here in Bristol. The article is due to appear in the special issue of Freedom newspaper to be given out at the London Anarchist Bookfair on 24 October 2009. We think its well worth circulating far more widely….

Why Prisoner Support?
Prisoner support should be an essential facet of any anarchist’s political activities; yet our prisoner support groups attract so little support from our fellow anarchists. Why is this?

Of course, it is natural for us to support someone we are close to, friends and family or even a comrade from ones affinity group, when they are banged up. Yet why do so few anarchists support comrades from within the wider movement, let alone prisoners in general? Mutual aid and solidarity are surely a central tenet of the anarchist ‘belief system’, one brick that any anarchist society should be built upon, yet it is something that often doesn’t extend beyond one’s immediate environment (family/friends/affinity group).

The ongoing struggle against prisons and the prison society

Prisons are in the news this week, and not just because of the shocking statistic that the prison population has increased by 66% since 1995, to  just over 84000 locked up human beings. The main furore has been the call by the Prison Governors to abolish prison sentences of less than 1 year, which is a start…but their call is not driven by a sudden awakening to the concept of freedom. No its down to fear, fear that their overcrowded, corrupt and inhumane institutions are close to exploding, despite the introduction of countless measures since the Strangeways riot in 1990 to ever more control and isolate prisoners.

A gathering against the prison society

On 31st Oct/1st Nov 2009, at the Cowley Club, 12 London Road, Brighton, UK.
2 Days of discussions & presentations about the struggle for liberation, inside and outside of the prison walls. Organised by random anarchists and the Anarchist Black Cross, and in attendance comrades from across Europe. Topics/Themes include: