On July 14th, I traveled from Athens to Thessaloniki to stay there until the 16th of July, when I planned to return to Athens; personally, when I got bail conditions, I was not banned from exiting Attica.
There I was hosted by a couple of comrades. Thanos Chatziaggelou, who is one of the comrades that hosted me in their home for one night, had an arrest warrant against him for refusing to do military service, and he had let me know about it.
The next afternoon, specifically at 2pm, as we were coming out of their home, 20 hooded men of the anti-terrorist force flung themselves at us, having blocked the surrounding alleys with vehicles beforehand, and staged another infamous super-blockbuster operation to arrest us.
During the house search that followed, the cops seized a laptop, a pc and personal items of both comrades as well as my own.
During the arrest they beat comrade Chatziaggelou, handcuffed us and transferred us to a room located in a basement, where we were handcuffed continuously for five hours, with the constant presence of anti-terrorist cops inside the room. All this time, I had absolutely no idea why I’d been arrested.
Finally, at 7pm, I was informed that I’m being accused of breaking the bail condition regarding my permanent residence.
We were taken to the detention section, where there were around 80 prisoners, some of whom have been there for up to six months. They had to pay themselves for food and water; there were no televisions or radios inside, although these cells have become a regular prison by now, since they are being held in that section for months, deprived of hours out in a yard all this time.
As for the accusation brought against me, it’s the same prosecution that was ‘staged’ against comrade Kostas Sakkas, who was falsely accused of having violated the condition relating to permanent residence, because he stayed overnight at the house of one of his friends.
Later of course he was acquitted at trial, as the residence term obliged him to register a fixed and permanent home, and did not ban him from staying overnight at another home.
Now that the court case in Athens against me and my comrades Mitroussias, Karagiannidis, Sakkas comes to an end, it is no coincidence that there’s an attempt to create such frenzy with new charges and proceedings imposed against me.
The clearest of all is the State’s effort to unleash a show of force, as well as the ever increasing repression against fighters, part of which is the creation of maximum security prisons.
On Wednesday morning, July 16th, we were taken to court on additional charges, that of contemptuous resistance to authorities, because we refused to give fingerprints. Comrades had called for a solidarity gathering, and attended the courtroom that morning.
The hearing at the court in Thessaloniki was postponed to the 28th of July.
We were still in court having the trial postponed, when I was informed about the shootout between comrade Nikos Maziotis and the cops, and his injury and arrest. I stand in solidarity with comrade Nikos Maziotis, who has fought for his life and freedom.
Solidarity with armed fighters Nikos Maziotis and Pola Roupa, members of the Revolutionary Struggle. Our comrades are not alone!
Stella Antoniou
July 18th, 2014
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Translator’s note:
Stella Antoniou and Thanos Chatziaggelou were both released on the 16th of July, and will stand trial on Monday, July 28th. Chatziaggelou also awaits court-martial.
Kostas Sakkas is still a fugitive.
After Nikos Maziotis was recaptured, state agents have unleashed a hysterical manhunt to track down Pola Roupa, who is currently on the run.