Featherstone prison: Week of disorder as screws attacked and ‘multiple’ fires

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Prisoners at a West Midlands prison have assaulted staff and started “multiple” fires in a week-long outbreak of disorder. A major incident was declared at Featherstone Prison on Thursday as riot police were drafted in to deal with the trouble, which also included a hostage situation. An extra 20 screws have now been called in to maintain order at the category C prison near Wolverhampton.

An inmate at the jail, which holds more than 600 prisoners and said the disorder started following a fight in one of the prisoner accommodation blocks. The fight could not be brought under control and screws had to call in reinforcements. He claimed three people were taken to hospital on Tuesday after further trouble, and screws were assaulted on Wednesday when they attempted to move some inmates to another block. Prisoners set fire to cells on Thursday and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service sent two crews to the jail.

(reposted from Fire on the Horizon)

Zine about the anarchists recently arrested in Warsaw

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(reposted from wawa3.noblogs.org)

On the night of May 23rd, the police in Warsaw arrested three anarchists on charges of an alleged arson attempt of a police vehicle. The three were transferred to a remand prison where they are to be held in custody for three months, awaiting trial. They face up to 8 years in prison. Media frenzy broke out over the arrest in the past few days, with high-ranking politicians and experts on terrorism discussing the matter on TV. Photos and video reruns of the arrested walking with chains around their feet and hands are broadcast on public transportation. The text below is a translation of the statement that was sent out by various groups from the anarchist and wider social justice community in Poland, in response to these arrests.

Fanzine-EN

MARTIN HAS A BIRTHDAY

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On August 10th Martin will celebrate his already 2nd Birthday behind the bars. You can greet him by making noise behind the wall, sending a letter or any other way you like. Bellow, there is Martin’s address and bank connection.

In these uneasy times we wish him all the best and sending solidarity greetings.

Martinova adresa / Martin’s address:
Martin Ignačák 10.8.1986
V.V. Praha – Pankrác
P.O.BOX – 5
Praha 4
140 57

Bankovní kontakt pro ČR (pouze):
Číslo bankovního účtu: 6015-30929881
Kód banky: 0710
Variabilní symbol: 378100886
Specifický symbol: 5296220101
Ve zprávě pro příjemce nutno uvést: Martin Ignačák 10.8.1986

Bank address of Anarchist Black Cross:
8760190237/0100
IBAN CZ98 0100 0000 0087 6019 0237
SWIFT CODE: KOMBCZPPXXX (KOMBCZPP)

(originally posted at antifenix.noblogs.org, also see Antifenix 2016 update)

IGOR’S SENTENCING – “BANNED FROM BEING AN ANARCHIST”

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Yesterday the appeal court hearing took place in the High Court in Prague. Russian, vegan, straight-edge anarchist Igor Ševcov, who was appealing his sentence – a 2 year expulsion from the Czech Republic for video recording someone else graffitiing prison walls during a support demonstration (complicity to criminal damage) – was given a new sentence.

The judgement remained the same – the high court still finds him complicit in criminal damage, but the judge changed the penalty. The new sentence: Igor is banned from attending any sporting or cultural event or any event like a manifestation, demonstration, benefit, mobilisation, protest or any other action within the anarchist movement.

We do not know yet what it means exactly, but it’s likely that Igor will have to visit a probation office any time there is a big action, and he will be surveilled during any other event by under cover state agents and spies. If he violates his sentence he can be put behind bars for up to 3 years.

Although it seems a lot nicer than an expulsion from the country, we find this sentence disgusting and humiliating. It degrades an anarchist, or anyone who is not satisfied with a world based on hierarchy and inequality towards a self-policing individual. The path of a person who understands that every step they take is controlled most likely ends with the four walls of a prison.

The repressive system is evolving and, like any sector of the market, penetrates deeper and deeper into every level of our lives. New measures of control have been introduced in addition to prison. In these new measures, not only does prisoner manage their own detention, but an impression of nicer repression is also given. That’s one of the reasons why neoliberal democracy can work for so long.

When in a dictatorship it is very common to hate the repression and the people see the oppressor as their enemy – in a democracy the repression is painted a colour so that is it unrecognizable, or the majority side with the oppressor and see their oppression as nice and necessary.

We do not know if Igor will follow this sentence, try to oppose it legally or just follow his own agenda and feelings and see what happens in the future. In any case, he has our full support.

If you want to support Igor, rather than congratulating him on his “better” sentence, ask him what kind of support he needs, for he is in a very uncomfortable situation. And mostly, keep changing your environment into a world where repression, exclusion and borders are exchanged for mutual solidarity and freedom.

The struggle continues!

(originally posted on antifenix.noblogs.org)

Birmingham Prison: Riot cops sent in after stand-off on wing, a man dead

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A squad of specialist prison riot cops were sent into Birmingham prison after a stand-off between prisoners and screws.

The scum multi-national G4S, which operates HM Prison Birmingham, confirmed the incident happened on Friday night but denied that it was linked to the “unexplained” death of a prisoner in a different wing earlier in the day. Cops were called to the prison at 1pm on Friday [8 July] after a prisoner was found dead in his cell on L wing.

Sources inside the prison had claimed that a number of prisoners had been involved in a protest later in the day on B wing. But scum G4S probably lying through their teeth claimed that only one person had climbed on to safety netting and added that it was not connected to the earlier death. It confirmed that specialist prison riot cops – known as a tornado squad – had been deployed to deal with the single prisoner on the netting. It said that the stand-off ended when the prisoner came down just after midnight.

(Originally posted on Fire on the Horizon)

Call for solidarity with USA prison strike on the 9th of September

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On September 9th, 2016 prisoners across the United States will be conducting work stoppages, hunger strikes and other forms of action in a call to end prison slavery. The call was originated by organizers from the Free Alabama Movement. A national coalition of community groups associated with the IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Anarchist Black Cross chapters and others throughout the country have come together to build a national support network to push for a final end to prison slavery.

To achieve this goal, we need support from the international community. We hope that prisoner support groups in the across the globe will hold solidarity demos and inform prisoners they are in contact with about the September 9th day of action. This spring and summer will be seasons of organizing, spreading the word, building networks of solidarity and showing that we’re serious and what we’re capable of. We ask that you organize some sort of solidarity action and help spread the word to prisoners in your area. We hope that the fires of prison rebellion spread from the United States to prisons across the globe! With one unified voice of rebellion we can send a strong message to captors across the globe that the iron bars of their cage cannot contain our thirst for freedom!

Over the next month members from the Anarchist Black Cross in the United States will be traveling Europe and available to do presentations or talk with your collective if you have the time/if our itinerary has us come through your area. It would also be most helpful if folks could help us get in contact with other groups throughout Europe to spread the word and who might be interested in meeting with us while we are in their area.

Dare to Struggle
Dare to Win

Portland ABC
pdxabc.org

More info on the Sept. 9th Day of action.
supportprisonerresistance.noblogs.org/s…/
FreeAlabamaMovement.com
iwoc.noblogs.org
unityandstruggle.org/2016/05/05/incarce…/

If you or your collective are interested in meeting with us we will be in the following European cities on the following dates. We would love to do a presentation or share about the national prisoner strike with your group. If you have connections to prisoner support groups in any of the following cities it would be greatly appreciated if you could connect us!

July 6-10th: Berlin
July 10th-15: Barcelona
July 15-20th: Naples
July 20th-24: London
July 24-29th: Paris
July 29-August 6: Athens

Call for solidarity action!

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(From Antifenix)

As “Czech” Anarchist Black Cross and the AntiFenix Collective, we call for international solidarity actions against the repression of anarchists in the so-called Czech Republic. This repressive wave is labeled Operation Fenix – 8 people are accused or charged, some with possible life sentences, and with many more harassed by police, interrogated, raided, devices confiscated.

Our call for international solidarity is to support all of charged and affected, but also in particular to support Martin, an anarchist who was entrapped and accused of preparation of a terrorist attack, all planned by two state infiltrators. He has been locked away already almost 14 months in terrible conditions, and in response, he has just gone on hunger strike. Especially in places where you have Czech embassies or consulates, you can show that borders can’t stop anarchist solidarity.

Although Martin’s English isn’t very good, he will be very happy to receive any mail, here is his address:

Martin Ignačák 10.8.1986
V.V. Praha – Pankrác
P.O.BOX – 5
Praha 4
140 57

Protest against Close Supervision Centre system: 21st July

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A secret world exists within the high security prison estate in England, known as the Close Supervision Centre (CSC) system. The dehumanisation of CSC prisoners begins at a very early stage, in the official justification for the creation of the CSC system, which focuses on the need to contain a new breed of unmanageable and unpredictable risks. It continues with the creation of classificatory categories of ‘dangerousness’ which objectify prisoners and make more of the category and less of the human in them, and it is reinforced by the tightly controlled and highly regulated routines.In addition to isolation and extremely restricted movements, prisoners’ in-cell belongings are carefully regulated and subjected to relentless scrutiny and inspection. Prisoners remain in CSC units for years, decades even, made frustrated, angry and bored by their experiences with few avenues to vent their anger and with almost no opportunities to advance through the system. All perceived acts of disobedience or non-compliance by CSC prisoners, even of the most petty kind, are responded to brutally by gangs of prison officers clad in full riot gear who show no mercy when demonstrating their authority and power, sanctioned by Prison Service management at the highest levels. Rather than controlling violence, as it officially aims to do, this hyper-controlled environment breeds it.Having now spent six years subject to the unofficial punishment of allocation to the CSC myself, it is clear that without real pressure to force the required change nothing but more negative and oppressive measures will be added.

Please lend your support for the abolition of the CSC system by attending the protest demonstration: 21 July between 12.30pm and 2.30pm outside the offices of the Prison Ombudsman and Independent Monitoring Board,  Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS.

Kevan Thakrar
A4907AE
Close Supervision Centre,
HMP Wakefield,
5 Love Lane,
Wakefield WF2 9AG
www.justiceforkevan.com
Facebook: JusticeForKev