On March 27th, Dimitris Koufontinas (57 years old) suspended hunger strike, after the justice ministry put up for public consultation a prison reform bill.
However, the draft bill has not yet been submitted to parliament, nor has it been referred for voting. Thus, Kostas Gournas (34 years old) continues hunger strike, awaiting further developments around the content and enactment of the bill.
Both prisoners remain in Lamia hospital, outside of which local anarchists-antiauthoritarians have gathered in solidarity (see videos), sending strength to comrade Kostas Gournas, who is on hunger strike since March 2nd, and wishing a speedy recovery to Dimitris Koufontinas.
Below is their joint statement issued 2/3/2015.
We, Kostas Gournas and Dimitris Koufontinas, political prisoners in the type C prison of Domokos, go on hunger strike as of today Monday the 2nd of March.
We fight for the abolition of articles 187 and 187A of the Penal Code, for the abolition of the entire legislation comprising of special measures with which the Power seeks to criminalise and destroy its political opponents.
We fight for the abolition of special courts, or emergency courts-martial, this extermination factory of people who resist, with their special composition of judges, special unconstitutional laws, special unscientific and fraudulent use of evidence (e.g. DNA), and special fabrication of evidence.
We fight for the abolition of all special repressive laws against protesters and against popular mobilisations.
We demand the immediate abolition of type C prisons, which acts as a symbol of a state of exception for political prisoners and of intimidation of the society that resists.
We demand the immediate release of Savvas Xiros. The authorities, for 13 years now, have been methodically and vengefully exterminating him, resulting in irreparable damages to his health, with the index of his disability reaching 98%.
Because repression is the flip side of austerity, the struggle of the people’s movement against austerity is inseparable from the struggle against repression and particularly against a permanent state of emergency. For this reason we ask for the support of the entire struggling society.
This struggle of political prisoners, their mobilisations and hunger strike, sends a message of resistance to the Greek people: we and only we, assuming the cost of our choices, need to take our lives into our own hands, united and determined. This is our duty for our dignity, for future generations.
Hope comes only through struggle
Type C prison of Domokos
2nd of March 2015
Kostas Gournas
Dimitris Koufontinas
English translation (slightly edited here) via kraygesapotakelia
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