On July 2nd, 2012, an extensive police operation was launched across the city of Thessaloniki, with raids in two squats, house searches and massive preemptive detentions (people were caught even in their private residences, and on several streets, and after few hours were released from police departments), as well as arrests. There are reportedly 25 arrestees, and it is possible that they will be charged with felonies.
Specifically, police forces stormed the anarchist hangout Nadir at approximately 6.30am, detaining people from inside the building. Cops then also stormed the Orfanotrofio squat, also detaining people there.
The Greek media immediately linked this crackdown to a police case file concerning events of recent months in this city of northern Greece.
To hell with the police mercenaries and the ruling media… We are well aware of the fact that the judiciary and the cops will loyally serve any dominant propaganda, in an escalating war against the enemy within.
However, we cannot really refrain from mentioning that these speculated “events of recent months” may indeed imply severe conflicts between individuals and/or collectives in Thessaloniki that are (at least theoretically, or to exterior observers) affiliated to the same political space, but made themselves defend alleged, or consciously, different tendencies and approaches more than often against each other (also with public communiqués in some cases). There are many facts left deliberately untold about a seemingly internal conflict into active spaces of the wider libertarian milieu in the city of Thessaloniki, and this issue might never be analyzed publicly. But we can reflect on the deeper danger that lies behind such discords, now that the repression has hit hard, and apparently the crackdown affects comrades from both “sides” of any kind of strife.
7 thoughts on “Greece: Major crackdown in Thessaloniki”
Officially, the police arrested 25 people, and identified another 30 individuals for participation in two adversary “organizations”
Excerpt from the Press release of the Greek police (02-07-2012)
{Specifically, the investigations of the Security Division of Thessaloniki verified the composition, internal structure and hierarchical body of members that made up the two (2) criminal organizations, which operated from about late February 2012.
The members of each organization, from February to May this year, organized and performed more than ten, on both sides, attempted or finite violent attacks. The clashes had as main characteristics the exercise of particular physical violence, combined with the use of “dangerous” objects (chains, batons, Molotov cocktails, etc.), and the intent to cause dangerous or heavy bodily injuries.}
….
3-7/2012 https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1410753
One more arrest during the solidarity gathering outside the Thessaloniki courts.
The 25 arrestees are expected to appear before the prosecutor on Thursday and Friday 5-6/7 (the Nadir people) and on Saturday and Sunday 7-8/7 (the Orfanotrofio people). Until then, all of them will be detained in the police HQ of Thessaloniki (G.A.D.TH).
Thessaloniki, Greece- 04/07/2012
Letter from 13 of the arrested (affiliated to the Orfanotrofio squat), where they sign as:
Accused as members of the “C.O. Haunts of Thessaloniki”
-they don’t make a single reference to the Nadir people …
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411015
July 5th saw the first hearing in Thessaloniki courts by the investigating judge on the recent arrests that took place in the city. The process began with arrestees involved in the “Criminal organization hangout Nadir”, as mentioned in the case file! Four defendants made it in the courtroom today; three of them were released under restrictive conditions, while one person was set free without bail. The proceeding will continue tomorrow with the rest of accused for participation in the so-called “Nadir organization”.
On Saturday and Sunday, it is expected that arrestees who are accused for participation in the “Criminal organization hangouts of Thessaloniki” (again, as the cops and prosecutors like to call it!) will be examined by the investigating judge.
source
Brief update about the recently arrested in Thessaloniki
All 25 arrestees in Thessaloniki (12 connected to the “Nadir”, and 13 connected to the “Orfanotrofio” and other squats), who were held in the Thessaloniki Police HQ (GADTH) since July 2nd, 2012, appeared before public prosecutor at Thessaloniki courts and have finally been released from detention:
Thursday 5/7
– 3 were released under restrictive conditions
– 1 released without restrictive conditions
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411091
Friday 6/7
– 6 were released under restrictive conditions (monetary bail of 3,000 euros was additionally imposed on one of them)
– 2 released without restrictive conditions
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411459, retrieved from the corporate news portal alterthess.gr/content/eleytheroi-afethikan-akomi-8-syllifthentes
Saturday 7/7
– 6 were released under restrictive conditions (monetary bail of 2,000 euros was additionally imposed on three of them)
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411582
Sunday 8/7
– 7 were released, possibly under restrictive conditions [however, this has not yet been specified]
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411582
On Tuesday 3/7, one more man was reportedly arrested during the solidarity gathering at Thessaloniki courts.
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1410753
[However, his situation has not yet been specified —whether he was kept in detention, or released on the same day, etc.]
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Two relevant texts, released after the crackdown from the side of the 13 arrestees and other people affiliated to them:
– Wednesday 4/7: ‘Letter of 13 arrestees from the GADTH detention rooms’, signed by: the accused as members of the “c.o. hangouts of Thessaloniki”
The original Greek text was republished on https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411015, retrieved from the corporate news portal alterthess.gr/content/epistoli-13-syllifthenton-apo-ta-kratitiria-tis-gadth
We thank comrades who kindly sent an English translation of this letter to our mail, which was also sent to “325” and can now be read on http://325.nostate.net/?p=5778.
– Thursday 5/7: ‘Text of the wanted people for the events of Thessaloniki’, signed by: some from the list of prosecuted/wanted for the “criminal organization hangouts of Thessaloniki”
The original Greek text was republished on https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411265, retrieved from the corporate news portal alterthess.gr/content/keimeno-ton-katazitoymenon-gia-ta-gegonota-tis-thessalonikis
We translate a short excerpt below, despite the fact that it was first published on mainstream media:
“[…] The arrest of 13 comrades and the renaming of the anarchist and wider radical space of Thessaloniki into a ‘criminal organization’ is the new effort by the police to discredit and suppress social parts that struggle everyday from the side of the oppressed against the State and bosses. We know that in times of systemic crisis and social unrest, as the ones we live, the Power will do everything possible to contain and repel the action of strugglers.
In the same way that we have taken the decision to resist every day the domination of fear, resignation and mindsets of violent enforcement on our lives, we stand again all together against the new repressive machinations of the police. With the same intensity that we build relationships of solidarity between us for years, we will now continue to defend our comrades and political choices in the same way. As different parts of the movement, we always choose to defend the structures we have built and the struggles we have given.
Concluding, we would like to return the characterization ‘criminal organization’ to the Greek police. […]”
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Another relevant communiqué, released after the crackdown:
– Saturday 7/7: ‘About our solidarity to the Nadir’, text signed by the: Insurgents’ Cell of Thessaloniki
The original Greek text was first published on https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1411506
We translate short excerpts below:
“[…] After the ever increasing repression since December 2008, the authoritarians are trying to isolate the insurrectionary comrades and those young people who were nurtured in the street. We who may not all be able to do the best possible analyzes of the existent system, with very nice words, with very thorough details and quotes, we who do not prefer the rhetorics in assemblies at university auditoriums, are the anarchists of praxis that do not expect ‘times to ripe’, but rather try to realize freedom in the here and now. This was mockingly termed as ‘antisocial’, ‘nihilistic’, ‘bahalakiko’ (bloody messing), ‘hooliganistic’, and we experienced the phenomenon of this (tendency/practice) being fought and discredited by a large part of society and unfortunately also by a large part of the @space, who on many occasions reproduced the discourse, the logic and the phobic syndromes of the mass media Power. So, there was the attempt to isolate comrades who make riskier choices, on the pretext that they put others at risk.
Thus, the repressive experiment that the Power carries out in recent years with its odious terror laws, which are insidiously upgraded every summer, and the growing oppression have not found us united but in disagreement and skirmishes in relation to this very important issue of strategy in the street. Everyone makes his/her choices, but there’s also the part of the @space that chooses attack as the best defense, and even though they have found no support from the rest, they continued their uncompromising attitude at the cost of underestimation and while facing an effort towards their isolationism. One such case is the anarchist hangout Nadir.
The revolutionary movement has many aspects and areas to address and organize, such as structures of self-organization, solidarity, counter-information, our own organization of production and economy, and many others, with which we find ourselves in total agreement; we simply do not prioritize them and do not feel they’re disconnected from the confrontational disposal and the multifaceted revolutionary process. On the contrary, we embrace all as part of the movement and show our solidarity, without exception, to arrestees from the streets, to armed comrades, and even to those who at some time will be arrested because they want to grow vegetables in their garden… If we do not acquire a unified combatant consciousness against the authoritarians who unleash an advent attack in our lives in all sectors, we will not have time to count losses, as has been happening lately.
But do not say that we are few…
[…] We stand proudly in solidarity with the anarchist hangout Nadir.
We stand in solidarity with every anarchist fighter who is incarcerated in the cells of democracy, subject to criminal proceedings, persecuted, slandered, and continues to defend his/her choices and keep an uncompromising stance.
Not a step backwards from fairness, courage and solidarity
Insurgents’ Cell of Thessaloniki”
Optional clarification regarding a phrase in our initial English post, namely: “There are many facts left deliberately untold about a seemingly internal conflict into active spaces of the wider libertarian milieu in the city of Thessaloniki, and this issue might never be analyzed publicly.”
We meant it for other languages (except Greek).
In parallel, by specifying “(also with public communiqués in some cases)”, obviously we were referring to public communiqués in Greek.
I’m no sociologist even never visited an university and also I don’t know many of the facts about this conflict, still I understand it as a result and plain example of how we are conditioned to function in the capitalist system. be it in competition one individual against another individual, or atomized in (micro) groups which fight against each other. competition is one of the best working implants of capitalism, it keeps us away from expressing our solidarity, it creates conflicts that even best friends become foes and finally these conflicts stop us from struggling against our real enemy; the capitalist system itself which first of all lead us to act in that way. it is a well-known mechanism, especially to anarchists/antiauthoritarians and still also we are often trapped through it. if we are oblivious to the fact that non of us grew up in thin air but in this capitalist society with all its poisonous mechanisms and that it indeed has a deep impact on our actions, if we do not continuously question/reflect our actions, when we are in danger to follow that dead end lead even so far that we destroy our own structures. that is what is recently happening in Thessaloniki to an extend which is highly alarming and where those involved and participating in building up the “two fronts in this war” are sadly unaware of the mechanism which they have been conditioned to follow from their early years until now and are currently reproducing.
so dear comrades in Thessaloniki, who are involved in this spectacle; take a seat, look around the battle field you have been creating and think deeply about whom you are serving by fighting against each other…
UNITED WE ARE STRONG, DEVIDED WE FALL!