Athens: Spectacle of police terrorism against the R.O. Conspiracy of Cells of Fire and Theofilos Mavropoulos at Evelpidon courts – A communiqué by all of the imprisoned comrades themselves

The trial against the imprisoned CCF members and anarchist Theofilos Mavropoulos was scheduled for the morning of June 27th at Evelpidon courts, in Athens. In addition to much heavier charges, all ten of them are now prosecuted even for incitement to criminal acts in relation to three texts that had been published online in October–November 2011. The first one was a solidarity text to the anarchist hangout Nadir (in Thessaloniki) and the second one concerned the preliminary investigation due to the text in solidarity with Nadir, both signed by the imprisoned members of the R.O. CCF and Theofilos Mavropoulos. On June 26th, one day before the trial at Evelpidon courts, a solidarity statement concerning this new prosecution against CCF members and Theofilos Mavropoulos was issued by the anarchist hangout Nadir.*

The third among the aforementioned texts that has also been included in the trial brief is not even their own, but it is a responsibility claim for incendiary attack on Studio ATA in Melissia, Athens, signed by the Deviant Behaviours for the Spreading of Revolutionary Terrorism/International Revolutionary Front (the same group that on June 29th, 2012, claimed responsibility for the explosive attack on the Greek headquarters of Microsoft in Maroussi, Athens, an action which was carried out in the early hours of Wednesday, June 27th).

That Wednesday morning, 27/6, a spectacular terror-show was set up by the agents of “citizen protection”. By 8.30am, dark-blue luxury jeeps and blue paddy-wagons of the special terror-unit set off from Koridallos prisons and crossed the city’s streets at high speeds, with flashing sirens wailing like crazy.

Eight of the imprisoned comrades attended the proceeding at Evelpidon courts, while two of them were absent (for non-alarming reasons). Among them was comrade Olga Ekonomidou, who looked well —she had finally come out of the solitary confinement of Diavata prisons and is expected to be transferred to Eleonas–Thebes prisons, given there will be no “unpleasant surprise” on the part of prison authorities.

A small-scale scuffle broke out when the imprisoned comrades were being transferred from the police paddy-wagons into a hellish basement at Building 9, because few thugs from anti-riot squads tried to provoke and push back the gathered people (by that time, nearly over a hundred), and even used police batons against solidaritarians. The incident soon came to an end, with no serious injuries.

The eight prisoners were locked up for approximately five hours in that basement. Numerous random people, and even lawyers passing by, were asking curiously in a whispery voice why were so many repressive forces lined up across the courtyard alleys, evidently terrorized at the sight of not only hooded and fully-armed blue cops but also of a total of five green police squads guarding closely for hours the space between the detention rooms and the solidaritarians.

When the prisoners’ transfer finally began from Building 9 to the courtroom in Building 2, within a distance of nearly 100 metres, it was already expected that the trial would be postponed after the counsel’s respective appeal. Police vehicles were parked close to each other, in order to block any visual contact with the captive comrades. Not more than 80 comrades were present then, what felt at least discouraging, bearing in mind the political importance of this prosecution as an attempted silencing of radical free speech. However, solidarity slogans were chanted lively in the alleys of courtyards, while several of the comrades, friends and relatives managed to accompany the smiling and proud CCF members as well as revolutionary Theofilos Mavropoulos inside the courtroom, who were all handcuffed and “escorted” tightly by “anti”terrorist hooded macho thugs.

Solidarity words included the following slogans: ‘The anarchist discourse cannot be penalized; cops and judges, go fuck yourselves’, ‘Freedom for the Cells of Fire’, ‘Praxis of anarchist is not just words; freedom for the anarchist comrades’, ‘The States are the only terrorists; solidarity with armed guerrillas’, ‘Only bursts of Kalashnikov would do justice and make you [cops] come to your senses’, ‘The passion for freedom is stronger than all prison cells’, ‘Rage and consciousness, denial and violence; down with statism, long live anarchy’…

People who stood outside the courtroom at the time were shouting out loud their solidarity and complicity with the accused, when a police squad passed near them; a cop was particularly irritated at the sound of an anti-Nazi slogan, so much as to raise his middle finger. He got the response he deserved—to put it in his ass, of course—but, other than that, comrades stayed calm, moved closer to the courtyard and focused on greeting with their strength and applauses the anarchist prisoners on their way back to the police vans, after the presiding judge had agreed to the postponement of the trial (set for December 2nd, 2013).

Unlike the conditions at the court-martial of Koridallos women’s prisons, where identity cards of visitors are withheld and returned upon exit from the courtroom, no one must give identity card upon entrance through the metal detectors in Evelpidon courts area. Nevertheless, the day was marked by ambushes of plainclothes cops who conducted identity checks of visitors earlier in the morning, as well as verbal provocations by anti-riot cops against attendees who were walking away from Building 2 after the trial process was over, by midday.

The jeeps and vans of the terror-unit drove off with sirens wailing once again, headed back to Koridallos prisons. After a while, one police battalion harassed two comrades who were leaving the area, asking for their identity cards. A “law enforcement officer” attempted to punch one of them, who was also chased by the murderers in uniform, but quickly got away. The bullying ended only after the squad’s leader ordered his sheep to come back to the herd.

So, this was not just another day at public courts. To try to put it in other words, it was a low turnout of attendees at the umpteenth trial against comrades, a long waiting within the disgusting environment of the temples of bourgeois justice, where court employees were pushing back and forth shopping trolleys (“expropriated” from supermarkets) laden with piles of trial briefs and judicial documents of countless cases against civilians; and it was a harsh reminder of the ongoing captivity of unrepentant revolutionary fighters, in the context of an overt prosecution of freedom of speech and solidarity.

* On July 2nd the anarchist hangout Nadir was raided once again, in the context of an extensive police operation across the city of Thessaloniki.
Here’s the communiqué by the imprisoned members of the R.O. CCF of the first phase and anarchist of praxis Theofilos Mavropoulos concerning the trial farce of June 27th:

[ Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 ]

On June 27th we stand trial charged with incitement to criminal acts in relation to three texts that were released when we found ourselves captives in the State’s prisons. One of these texts is a responsibility claim for arson on vehicle(s) belonging to a television production studio company by the group “Deviant Behaviours…” of the International Revolutionary Front (IRF), and the other two are our own announcements about the cops’ raid in the anarchist hangout Nadir (in Thessaloniki), as well as the interrogation that followed this text…

The phrase in question that annoyed the judicial mafia is “not 1 millimetre back; 9mms in cops’ heads.”

We could have not wasted even a single word about this case. The legal implications of this new prosecution are just a drop in the ocean for us.

We know that we have ahead of us predefined convictions to many decades in prison. How could we be concerned about a few months more, from one misdemeanor charge? But still… an anarchist of praxis cannot think with the legal reasoning of a lawyer.

This prosecution acquires a distinct political value. As already shown, the State, the prosecutorial authorities and police services have repeatedly tried all innovative methods and tactics against the CCF: members of the Conspiracy charged with abetments while being in custody; extension of remand in custody (by an order of new pretrial detention just few hours before the expiry of the 18-month period of the initial pretrial detention) against one of our comrades (Gerasimos Tsakalos) while he was hospitalized as a hunger striker; cooperation of the Italian and Greek authorities for our probable extradition to Italy; further prosecutions in relation to texts, etc.

It is written somewhere that the more your enemy persecutes you, the more it’s proven that you have succeeded hard blows against the enemy.

To us, the charges that fill the thousands of pages of our trial briefs are a title of honour. But we want to stress that, as anarchists of praxis, what we leave behind us unanswered becomes a legacy for the future; to the contrary, what we gain creates our perspective.

The fact that the prison guards can keep for two and a half months comrades locked up in solitary confinement cells, without the aggressive reflexes of anarchist solidarity being activated (with few exceptions), is undoubtedly a defeat.

If the daily attacks by dastard petty fascists and their presence on the street, in the squares and neighbourhoods won’t be met with the corresponding retaliation on our part, with knives, knuckledusters, fires and explosions, then they will mark the retreat of the enemy within.

The recoil of offensive actions from the new anarchist urban guerrilla warfare (with the exception of the anarchists of praxis and the cells of FAI-IRF) against the tension conditions of the social machine is obviously a victory of fear and repression.

We do not want to let fear and defeatism become our shadow. In spite of the times, we remain unrepentantly hardheaded and steadfast. We will not turn down the volume of our discourse or disarm our words.

The fact that we are being accused because of our texts for “inciting others to commit felony offenses” means that our words can still communicate with the doubters and deniers of our era and be transformed into actions. We are proud of it. We never liked hollow words. At the same time we never believed in, nor reconciled with democratic liberties and rights. We have always thought that they serve as a “showcase” for the police state and the social machine.

By the prosecution of our texts, even the last illusions that some people may maintain about democracy are withdrawn. Now the curtain of freedom of speech has been pulled back, and the judicial censorship has been exposed. Yet this is a good thing… Therefore, we will never talk about the “criminalization” of discourse and ideas.

We have always believed that the insurrectionist theory is accompanied by anarchist practices, as well as vice versa.

Logos and praxis (discourse and action) are inseparable concepts. The positive side of our prosecution is polarization. Once illusions are withdrawn from the scene, each and every one takes position. There are no innocents.

We respond to the fear of repression with the momentum of attack. Ignorance and indifference are repealed, and now decisions speak.

The dilemma is clear. Either with the society of the existent or the deniers of our era; either an appeased citizen or oppugning riotmaker; either an eternally indignant protestor or anarchist of praxis; either rule or exception, either now or never.

NOT 1 MILLIMETRE BACK
9MMS AGAINST DIRECTORS AND SERVANTS OF THE SOCIAL MACHINE

PS. In court, where we’re called to appear, we disdain the judicial marionettes and disregard the defense of our rights. After all, we have thrown the rights which democracy “grants” to us into fire long ago, along with our legal identities.

Our presence there and our stance are yet another insult and an affront to the laws’ Inquisitors.

It is a small part of the total anarchist war we declare against society of the State.

The imprisoned members of the R.O. CCF of the first phase and anarchist of praxis Theofilos Mavropoulos