Resistrance. A benefit for defendant solidarity in Bristol

Here’s the full details of the massive political party planned for Saturday 3 December in Bristol, with all proceeds going to maintain the work of Bristol Defendant Solidarity in supporting those arrested and/or imprisoned following the disturbances earlier this year in Stokes Croft and elsewhere. Organised and hosted by Resistrance, Kebele Sound, Next2Nothing and friends…

BDS info

Freedom for political prisoners fundraising calendar 2012

The USA remains not just one of the most unequal countries in terms of wealth distribution, but also one of the most oppressive.

Artwork - May 2012

Recent figures (end of 2010) indicate that it locks up some 2.4million people in its various prisons, an adult incarceration rate of about 0.8%, or just under 1 adult in every 100. In addition, over seven million more are under ‘correctional supervision’, and over 13 million pass through U.S. prisons and jails annually. America’s prison population has risen by some 1000% in 30 years. Unsurprisingly, two thirds are either unemployed or were surviving on an income of less than $5000 a year. At least 40% of women prisoners have young children. The USA imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and accounts for over 25% of the worlds prison population. Welcome to the land of the free. Not. With the US clamping down on its growing ‘Occupy’ movement with brutal robocops and chemical weapons (see Oakland – general strike 2 Nov & police repression;  Denver; Wall St), we can be sure the number of prisoners will increase.

Artwork - December 2012

Bristol ABC is pleased once again this year to be distributing the Certain Days ‘Freedom for political prisoners calendar 2012’. This is a long term fundraising, info & campaign project by Canadian activists & 3 long-term US political prisoners, who have collectively spent over 100 years inside prison. The 3 are all being held in maximum-security prisons in New York State, they are Robert Seth Hayes, Herman Bell & David Gilbert.

Prisoner List October 2011

The latest list of ‘political prisoners’, compiled by Bristol ABC from a large number of sources, is now available.

As ever the updating of this list is a labour of love in these times of ever growing numbers of comrades sent down, as resistance mounts around the world against the horrors unleashed by the forces of capital and states everywhere. Whilst we endeavour to make sure the information is correct, we could fill a hundred pages and still not include all those who need solidarity & support – and thats without even having the confirmed info from many parts of the world. As it is, in many instances we are now putting in links to sources in other countries for you to follow yourself. Here is the list (updated 25 oct 2011):
As an open office doc – Prisoner list_Oct2011
As a pdf – Prisoner list_Oct2011

For an explanation of the need to support prisoners, and tips on writing to prisoners, see our resources page.
In solidarity with all those locked up and still struggling!

Some guides to help if you face going to prison

Being sent to prison is shit, even worse you are now a captive of one of your worst enemies, the state, so avoid it if you possibly can. But every day more people are being sent to prison, increasingly as a result of the ongoing social conflict between the bosses & politicians, and the rest of us.

Unsurprisingly therefore, the last year has seen a large growth in the number of ‘political activists’ imprisoned, as the state tries to intimidate our social movements. But don’t let the bastards grind you down. Be prepared.

Read these guides, but remember they are only guides, not the ‘law’, and the rules for courts and prisons do change all the time, often on the whim of those in authority. Read on:

Resistance Rhymes – A Fundraiser For Bristol Defendants

The always up for it Kebele Sound Collective, in association with various itinerants & dissidents, crank up the pressure this Friday with a night of truly international (and local) rabble rousing n ranting hip hop. Profits from the gig will go towards supporting defendants in Bristol facing charges from recent street-level acts of resistance.

INQUEST slams 3 deaths in 8 days during contact with police

‘Police must be reminded they cannot act with impunity following alarming rise in deaths after the use of force’

The campaigning charity INQUEST issued a press release (pdf) 24th August following the 3 deaths of men during contact with the police in the period 16 to 23 August. All the deaths involved the use of a taser and/or pepper spray and/or restraint. The dead men were Philip Hulmes, Jacob Michael, and Dale Burns. Helen Shaw, INQUEST Co-Director, said:
“The shocking reports about three tragic deaths in eight days following the use of force by police highlights INQUEST’s growing concern about deaths following contact with the police. For too long there has been a pattern of cases where inquest juries have found overwhelming evidence of unlawful and excessive use of force or gross neglect yet the police do not seem to have learnt the lessons from these previous deaths. Whilst we await the outcome of the inquests and investigations into these recent deaths it is imperative that the police are reminded that they cannot act with impunity.”

Anti-repression round up

So two weeks after the wave of disturbances swept across England, and the state’s blinkered response is clear to one and all – revenge against all those that stepped outside the accepted norms of of our disfunctional society. Unless of course you are a politician, media tycoon, corporation, or cop, in which case the normal rules dont apply and you are free to get away with just about anything – like stealing £’s thousands and millions, and of course shooting people dead.

What we are seeing is naked class justice from the ruling class directed at the working class, as they break all the rules they expect us to abide by and make up new ones to suit themselves along the way. Or to look at it another way, on the 10th August they were scared, very scared, and they didn’t like it one bit. So thousands arrested, over 1600 so far railroaded through emergency courts, hundreds of images of people published by the media before any sort of trial, unusually long prison sentences and irregular bail conditions handed down, and so on. With the prisons & police cells full to bursting with both remanded and sentenced prisoners, it only needs one spark for the whole prison system to break down, whilst the conditions inside the prisons will cause many prisoners to break down. The suicide of a remand prisoner at Bristol prison last weekend will not be the last (remember that whatever charges the person may face, they aint even been to trial yet). Meanwhile back on the streets its business as usual for the ruling class with rising unemployment and inflation, more cuts to services, devalued wages and pensions and savings, and of course more bank bailouts from public money.

Solidarity fund for six new anti-fascist UK prisoners

Our comrades at Leeds ABC have helped set up a solidarity fund for the 6 UK anti-fascists recently imprisoned for upto 21 months: “A solidarity fund has been set up to support the antifascist prisoners recently arrested. At a time when the state is applying increasingly draconian measures to thwart all forms of political protest and resistance of all kinds it is important that our prisoners are supported.”

Please send cheques made payable to ‘The Cable Street Society’, c/o Leeds ABC, 145-149 Cardigan Road, Leeds, LS6 1L
Or pay by bank transfer – details here.

Leeds ABC have been in touch with the prisoners: “These comrades have been fitted-up and deserve our fullest possible support. Please write to them or send a solidarity card. Please send a stamped self-addressed envelope if you would like a reply, or if you can afford it they can receive stamps, stationery, and postal orders (made payable to ‘The Governor’). They can also receive books sent via Amazon.

Bristol Defendant Solidarity

Bristol ABC has agreed to host a page for Bristol Defendant Solidarity. Here’s the intro to the page:

Bristol Defendant Solidarity
Bristol arrestee support first made an appearance in late 2010 providing support and advice by phone & email during/after the student protests. Now following the Stokes Croft resistance of April 2011 the Bristol Defendant Solidarity (BDS) has been formed, incorporating and building upon the work of arrestee support. BDS involves a number of activists with experience of arrests, police station and court processes, suing the cops, and legal, defendant & prisoner support.

Whilst we were away Bristol rebelled

The Bristol ABC blog has been quiet the last 8 weeks, whilst Bristol has been very rebellious and making national headlines. We’ve not exactly been away, but lack of people to do the work has meant the blog hasn’t been maintained as we’d like it to be. In fact those of us who have been around and about and healthy have been very busy locally, including helping out with legal and prisoner support. We’ll be trying to keep the blog upto date from now on, and we have a pile of info and news to pass your way.

Stokes Croft
Whilst Stokes Croft is actually just a fairly short street to the north of the city centre, it has become known as an ‘area’ that extends north, west and east into surrounding streets and neighbourhoods. On April 21/22 and 28/29 it was the scene of some fairly serious resistance to a police invasion and attempts at repression, events that have been heavily reported on Bristol Indymedia, and the local corporate press, and nationally. Whilst some saw it as just opposition to Tescos locally, in fact it was much more than that. Such high profile resistance does come inevitably with a state and media crackdown afterwards, with at least 50 arrests so far, and the need for some serious defendant solidarity.