Cardiff: 2 anti-militarists up in court on Tuesday

admin BDS, repression

From Radical Wales

Two anti-militarists are up in court this coming week, having been accused of disrupting last year’s DPRTE arms fair in Cardiff. The pair are due to stand trial on Tuesday 6th January 2015 at Cardiff Magistrates Court and could potentially face custodial sentences.

They are accused of damaging the luxury goods of DPRTE arms dealers and organisers -including a £400 suit and a £200 pair of designer shoes – with childrens play paint.

According to it’s website, DPTRE (the Defense Procurement, Research, Technology and Exportability exhibition) is the “UK’s Premier Defense Procurement Event” and is now being hosted annually at Cardiff Motorpoint arena. Their first time hosting the arms fair in Cardiff was on the the 8th of October 2014, with exhibitors at DPRTE include BAE Systems, the world’s 3rd largest arms producer with a very special relationship with the UK government & Saudi dictatorship. BAE also supplies Israel with the tools to wage war on the Palestinans and after the horrors seen perpetrated by Israel over the summer, from bombing a UN school to the killing of children playing on a beach, there is no doubt that BAE systems is complicit in these crimes through it’s arming of the Israeli state.

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There has been active opposition DPRTE since 2013. The arms fair had previously been hosted at the UWE campus in Bristol, but was subsequently driven out, hence the move to Cardiff. The protesters involved a variety of actions including blockading the UWE north entrance causing queues trailing back along the A4174.

Having being driven out of Bristol, South Wales Anarchists, Stop NATO Cymru  and others resolved to show the arms dealers that there is no welcome for them in Wales either. Many felt it unjust that whilst ordinary people are struggling and having to turn to food banks or are on the brink of homelessness, these arms dealers are walking around in expensive clothes worth more than most local families’ entire monthly disposable income, all bought with the profits made from mass murder. What does a statistic like 100 000 dead civilians in Afghanistan mean to the arms dealers at DPRTE? In material terms it means a bit of financial security and a couple of nice holidays a year.

One of the defendants said:“Arms dealers are complicit in slaughter all over the world. Perpetual war is in this industry’s interest and this is what’s become the norm. If the law really was a forum for justice, wouldn’t it be them on trial?”In a similar vein, Elliw from StopNATO Cymru said:

“What I would like to know is when have the arms dealers ever had to justify their horrific choice of career? Have the arms dealers ever had to look a mother in the eye and explain why their expensive suits, luxury goods and nice big homes are so much more valuable than the lives of their children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers? These cowards never have to face the consequences of their career choice. It sickens me that we live in a society that rewards such abhorrent and frankly psychopathic behavior.”

For those arrested opposing DPRTE in 2014 there will be a short solidarity demonstration outside Cardiff Magistrate’s Court from 9:15am on Tuesday 6th January 2015. Anti-militarist banners and well-wishers welcome. Afterwards some will be supporting the defendants from the public gallery.

If you were present at the protest against DPRTE Arms Fair at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in October 2014, you may be able to provide useful defence evidence. Please email:
bristoldefendantsolidarity@riseup.net

Spain: poster for anarchists arrested in “Operation Pandora”

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Source: http://rabble.org.uk/spain-poster-for-anarchists-arrested-in-operation-pandora/soli_en-FREEDOM-FOR-ANARCHIST-PRISONERS-724x1024

“They wanted to bury us, but they forgot we are seeds.”

Freedom for anarchist prisoners.

Solidarity with our comrades arrested by the Spanish state during “Operation Pandora”.

———-

On Tuesday, December 16th, at 5am, hundreds of cops broke into several houses, social centers, and ateneos in Barcelona, and also an apartment in Madrid. It was part of Operation Pandora, an anti-terrorist initiative carried out by the the highest level of the Spanish court system. Several houses were searched and eleven anarchist comrades were arrested. They did not know what charges they were accused of when they were arrested, just given a vague “anarchist terrorism” charge.

On Thursday, December 18th, seven of them went to prison and the other four were released under surveillance. All of them are now accused of the participating in the GAC (Coordinated Anarchist Groups), a group of people who held some meetings and edited some books. Earlier in November, 2013, five people were arrested and two are still in prison. They are also accused of the participating in the GAC and also committing some direct actions against churches.

The coordination between the police force and the media during Operation Pandora was immediately apparent. Together, they created panic and justified the repressive operation in terms of “criminal groups”, “terrorists” and “violent ones”. These police raids happened one day after the enactment of the “Ley Mordaza”, a very restrictive law that criminalizes disobedience and protest .

We are not surprised about the repression against the anarchist movement because our struggle against inequality through the self organization outside of laws and institutions make us undesirable for the state. They talk about “terrorism” when it is they who create terror and misery: the politicians and their laws, the bankers and their blackmails, the employing class and their exploitation, the cops and military with their repression and wars. Who are the “criminals”? Who is “violent”? Who are the “terrorists”?

The arrested people are our comrades. If they are terrorists, we are too. We build affinity, create alternatives, and point out who is robbing and exploiting us.

Because they are our friends,
Because they are our comrades,
Because we fight for Anarchism
We demand their immediate release!
We are in solidarity with them and will keep on fighting!

The struggle is the only way

For more information: solidaridadylucha(at)riseup.net

op pandora leaflet

Italy: Chiara, Claudio, Mattia and Niccolo sentenced to 3 years and 6 months

admin repression

musine_notav_14122014

From contrainfo

On December 17th, 2014, after a two-hour closed session, the Special Court of Assize of Turin sentenced Chiara Zenobi, Claudio Alberto, Mattia Zanotti and Niccolò Blasi to 3 years and 6 months each. The four comrades, imprisoned since December 9th, 2013, were found guilty of having sabotaged the TAV [High speed train line being bulldozed through the Susa valley] construction site in Chiomonte but were all acquitted of terrorism-related charges, for which the prosecutor had asked for a total sentence of nine years and a half.

In the meantime, anarchists Francesco Sala and Graziano Mazzarelli – arrested in July 2014 along with comrade Lucio Alberti for the same facts of which the other four were convicted at first instance – were both transferred to the high security section of Ferrara prison. The transfer is a direct consequence of the charges of “attack with the purpose of terrorism” that the Turin prosecutors pressed against Lucio, Francesco and Graziano a week ago.

Graziano Mazzarelli, Francesco Sala
c/o C.C. via dell’Arginone, 327, IT-44100 Ferrara

Lucio’s address, for now, remains the same:
Lucio Alberti
c/o C.C. via Cassano Magnago 102, IT-21052 Busto Arsizio (Varese)

Freedom for anarchists Chiara, Claudio, Mattia, Niccolò, Lucio, Fra and Graziano!

Prisoner Debbie Vincent moved to HMP Send

admin repression

Debbie VincentDebbie Vincent, a long-term animal rights campaigner, who was sentenced to 6 years in prison in April for  ‘conspiracy to blackmail’ has been moved to HMP Send.

Please write to Debbie in prison, her address is:

Debbie Vincent  A5819DE
HMP Send
Ripley Road
Woking
Surrey
GU23 7LJ
UK

 

Action report: Back at ya police harassment!

admin BDS, events, repression

Around 20 local anarchists, friends & badgers visited the HQ of the Bristol CID & Special Investigations at Sir Kenneth Steele House on Feeder Road in Bristol last Saturday 15th November. Officers operating from there have recently been visiting people’s homes and workplaces, harassing and putting pressure on local activists, musicians and their friends to become informants for the police. As a response, it was decided to turn the tables and start asking some questions of our own.

Armed with police style spotter cards displaying some of the ugly faces of Big Brother, our investigations began in the car park as decidedly nervous looking CID operatives arrived for their dirty work. Our unannounced presence seemed to produce a sort of mild panic for the first officer on the scene. All requests for “A friendly chat” and information on “shadowy figures stalking people and harassing communities” were met with a stony and awkward silence. Interestingly, they didn’t have anything to say on the matter and most stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact and going No Comment all the way. We could only conclude that they were feeling the pressure and had something to hide. The CID photographers were visibly nervous and especially camera shy but found themselves in a few photo opportunities anyway.

Deciding that our investigations could go no further today we left the premises. Soon afterwards armed police, dog units and a lot of agitated cops arrived, playing catch up and blocking the street. After a brief show of the sort of over reaction they’re well known for and what we pay our taxes for there was a stand off around the theme of “Give me your details”, “No!” “Well then we’ll arrest you”, “No you can’t!”. Once they realised we knew the law and were standing our ground the disgruntled police backed down and skulked off. Satisfied that our investigations had rattled a few cages we adjourned for refreshments and to plan further lines of enquiry… and solidarity!

2demo

New publication: Never Alone – A zine about supporting prisoners by those on the outside

admin prison industrial complex, Uncategorized

To download the zine click here: Never Alone

Never Alone CoverNever Alone was created to give a voice to those that support people in prison. Often invisible, unsupported and unrecognised, thousands of people in the UK, and millions internationally, support friends, family, partners and comrades in prison.

Their support, love, money and solidarity help people survive their time inside. They directly experience the harm of the prison system; separated from the people they love and losing their lives to give time and energy to support people behind bars.

This publication, while not distracting from the acknowledgement that those behind the walls are the centre of our struggles, seeks to amplify the voices of those on the other side of the fence, and share their experiences of interacting with the prison system. We hear from mothers, nephews, lovers, friends and organisers of support campaigns, about how it feels to know those you care for are behind enemy lines.

Bristol Anarchist Black Cross is a prisoner support organisation based in the South West UK. While commonly focusing on supporting prisoners of political struggle, we should never forget that all prisoners are political. Human beings are in cages because of class, race, gender, sexual orientation, because they are poor, and it serves the state and capital to exploit and control them.

The Empty Cages Collective is a new collective launched in 2014, which aims to bring prison abolition to centre stage in the UK. We are fighting against prison expansion and connecting people in the struggle to resist and dismantle the prison industrial complex.

We have worked together to produce this publication and hope it is the first of many so that those impacted by the ever- growing reach of the prison industrial complex are not forgotten.

If you have any comments, criticisms or would like to submit articles for future editions please contact us. We welcome stories of your direct personal experience, the harm the prison system causes and how you have got through, or continue to get through. Political commentary is also more than welcome, as well as ideas of how we can better support each other to cope with the emotional, practical and financial challenges of supporting someone we care about through their time inside.

Until Every Cell is Empty,

Bristol Anarchist Black Cross & Empty Cages Collective September 2014

www.bristolabc.wordpress.com | www.prisonabolition.org