16 months after our arrests on 29/01/2020, after all the media propaganda that followed and our isolation in different prisons, we are being put on trial on 31/5 at Loukareos Court. Αs an anarchist I oppose this procedure as I refuse to be judged by the chosen caste of judicial authority. But we are facing an extended indictment that composes a narrative which distorts the events and has as its main aim the extension of our imprisonment.
Briefly, we have been charged with ‘criminal organization’ as well as possession and transportation of heavy weaponry (the comrades also face this charge, whereas from the first moment I stated to the investigators that the weapons found in closed bags in the back seat where I was sitting, were my own), forgery, use of forged documents, force against officials and judiciaries, and disobedience. Furthermore, I have also been charged with the bank robbery of the Piraeus Bank in Erimanthia, Achaia, robbery-abduction of a policeman in Thessaloniki, and escape from the rural prison of Tirintha.
From my side, despite my known detestation of the boring and devious language of the law, I have the obligation to fight the cops’ allegations in the court, to fight the plans of the state that aim for the extension of the captivity of the two comrades, as well as the defamation of our relationships. Because by giving us specific hierarchical roles in a ‘criminal organization’, the charge is not only false but affronts in total our choices, our positions, and above all the relationships of solidarity and equality that we try to promote. A charge that is based on zero evidence since the only event connecting all three of us is the event of our arrest, as neither Konstantina or Dimitra are in any way connected with the robberies and thefts written in the case documents. For these reasons, the fabricated story of the police is not going to be left without a response.
To end this update text, I would like to express how much the solidarity actions around our case warm my heart.
Solidarity is our weapon
18/5/2021
Malandrino Prison
Giannis Michailidis
Translated by Act for freedom now!
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On 30/1/2020, comrades Dimitra Valavani, Konstantina Athanasopoulou and Giannis Michailidis were arrested in a stolen car in Agia Paraskevi following an anti-terrorist operation.
Weapons were found inside the car, which was driven by Giannis Michailidis. He and Konstantina Athanasopoulou were wanted, the first as fugitive from the rural prisons of Tirintha and for participation in the E.A. , R.O. REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE the second for bank robbery.
All three comrades are being tried on May 31 in the courts in Athens , Loukareos Street, room D80ST, 2nd floor.
The robbery of Piraeus Bank in Achaia on 29/8/2019 has been added to the case, as well as holding a police officer hostage in Halkidiki on 30/12/2019.
All three are also accused of forming a criminal organization.
TO BE ALL NEXT TO THEM
HANDS OFF THE FIGHTERS
NO HOSTAGE IN THE HANDS OF THE STATE
Act for freedom now!
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To send letters to the comrades:
Dimitra Valavani (Δήμητρα Βαλαβάνη)
Dikastiki Fylaki Korydallou
Gynaikeies Fylakes, (women prison)
T.K. 18110
Korydallos
Athens
Greece
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Kostantina Athanasopoulou (Κωσταντινα Αθανασοπουλου)
Eleonas Women’s Prison
Thebes
T.K. 32200
Greece
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Giannis Michailidis (Γιαννης Μηχαιλιδης)
Malandrinou prisons (Κ.Κ. Μαλανδρίνου)
T.K. 33053
MALANDRINO
FOKIDAS
GREECE
A first statement from comrades Valavani, Athanasopoulou and Michailidis 2/3/20
Difficult is the moment when freedom is lost. Especially when it had been won in adverse conditions. The situation gets worse if we consider that the blow we received on a material level has even stronger symbolic implications. Our cinematic arrest was followed by similar media propaganda, our graphic tour with bulletproof vests and the usual judicial management to find ourselves once again with an overblown set of charges, elements that form an extension of the handcuffs and weapons of the uniformed assassins.
A look at the wider social situation around us which is changing at a rapid pace so that we can slip away from our own microcosm a little.
From the magnitude of the workers’ exploitation and abolishing of labour rights to the stranglehold of animals in meat production units. From the intensive repression against protests and the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment from anti-terrorist services around the world, to deforestation and the disappearance of wildlife. From the financial exclusion of a growing social segment to the violent marginalization of most of the earth’s population. To the murders of the poor, the excluded, of all who are leftovers in the world of the mighty. From the provocative economic and business elite to the peoples being bombed, shot and uprooted. Where the interests of the powerful mean death, danger or a life drowned in submission. Nature, animals and humans mean nothing more than units generating profits and wealth. These and many others led us to choose the anarchist struggle, a choice that
challenges the existing social order. Our initial focus is on creating authentic and sincere relations, while at the same time there is the lasting need of our participation in the multiform struggle. After all, the anarchist struggle does not differentiate its means or support a hierarchy of forms of struggle. It is imperative and adjusts according to the conditions of each era, placing its bet on collectivization and diffusion on the social fabric.
Continue reading Greece :Text of the anarchist prisoner Giannis Mihailidis about the upcoming trial on 31/5/21 →
Translated by Act for freedom now!
