Late in the evening of November 24th, 2014, a banner in solidarity with the fighters in Greece was placed in Rossio Square, in the city centre of Lisbon, and leaflets were distributed to passersby and disseminated also in hangouts of anarchist culture.
The banner reads: “Solidarity with the fighters in Greece. Nikos Maziotis – Antonis Stamboulos. Freedom (in Greek)”
Below is the communiqué that was handed out (pdf in Portuguese here):
Nikos Maziotis, anarchist fighter and member of the urban guerrilla group Revolutionary Struggle, was captured in Athens, Greece, on July 16th, 2014 having been shot in the arm after an armed confrontation with the cops chasing him. After being discharged from the hospital he was transferred to Koridallos prison in Athens, but not for long, because on July 26th he was transferred to the prison of Diavata, near Thessaloniki, in a vengeful attitude by the Greek State, since in this prison there aren’t even the minimal conditions for the treatment of serious injuries.
Antonis Stamboulos, anarchist, was arrested on October 1st, 2014 in Athens, in an arbitrary manner, under accusations of terrorism and suspicion of belonging to the organization Revolutionary Struggle. He had DNA samples and fingerprints forcefully taken from him; he was tortured in custody and was only allowed to speak to his lawyer 24 hours after he was arrested. On the 6th of October, in Athens, he announced he had started a hunger and thirst strike after suspecting that he would be sent in pretrial detention very far from his family and his lawyer, thus demanding to stay in Athens. However, he was transferred on the 7th of October to Larissa prisons, very far from Athens. He ended the hunger and thirst strike on the 11th of October, already in Larissa prison – with a great many people having been mobilized all over Greece to protest over his situation – having concluded that there need to be conditions to continue the struggle in other forms.
In Greece, like in Portugal or any other part of the world, the order intends to attack by all means possible those who resist, ruthlessly persecuting all fighters, imprisoning them, torturing them, killing them if need be. The dogs of Power are paid to do so; the laws are made to protect all the crimes of state terrorism, all the crimes of capitalism. Capitalism of all stripes, feeds itself from such situations while populations remains inert, terrified or asleep, ignoring the extent to which their inaction reinforces the entirety of fascism that tries to establish itself everywhere.
We are against all borders, all forms of Power and subordination, against all forms of capitalism. We could appeal for solidarity with these anarchists or with all other anarchists who fight daily around the world for the destruction of this system, for freedom, but we believe that the only way to defend their freedom and their lives is that we all take care over our freedom and our lives. It is about fighting courageously and with dignity against this global tyranny, not making one step back in the face of the advancement of state terrorism. The struggle is multiform, let us advance!
The passion for freedom is stronger than all prisons!
Some anarchists