A letter from Danilo, accused of setting fire to a police van in Barcelona (Spain)

Indymedia Nantes

In February, the imprisonment of the rapper Pablo Hasél and the riots in Linares, in Andalousia, following the beating of a man and his daughter by plainclothes cops sparked a brief moment of revolt in the Iberian territory, especially in Catalonia. The reasons go beyond freedom of expression: hatred of the police, refusal of the curfew, the economic and social situation, etc. Saturday 27th February a riot broke out in the centre of Barcelona: banks and shops were trashed, ATMs burnt, clashes and barricades against the cops, and slight burning of a police van. At the repressive level, many were wounded, there were about one hundred arrests, and a dozen people were imprisoned, among whom eight comrades arrested on February 27 and March 1st for the burning of the van. For more info: presxs27febrer.noblogs.org
 27/03/2021
Hi everyone!
I’m Danilo, one of those arrested after the demo of 27th February. As many already know, I am writing from Brians 1 (Martorell). It is one month today since we were arrested and I wanted to publish something earlier but I had to get a better idea of what was going to happen, both for myself and for the others, also get news from outside, etc.
That said, I want to start by thanking the very many gestures of solidarity we have received, many people have implicated themselves in that, giving a lot, be it materially with letters, money, postcards, clothes, etc. or practically with demos, initiatives and other. Each of these contributions helps us a lot to keep up our morale and feel supported which is very important here, really thank you!

To sum up, for anyone who doesn’t know, we are accused of attempted homicide, attack on authority, public disorder, continued offence of degradation and belonging to a criminal group. Recently the comrade accused of having set fire to the urbana [Barcelona city cops’ van] has been released on bail. Which is great in and of itself, and we also think that perhaps this is a signal that the case is starting to fall apart.
However, it is always very complicated to predict anything, given the absurd pathetic media circus, in addition to the seriousness of certain charges, which is why I personally prefer to get used to the idea that it’s going to take a relatively long time to get out of here. It’s not that I don’t like the idea, I just prefer to have good surprises rather than disappointments, not start worrying about time, etc., so far that has worked for me, and I can say that in spite of everything I am calm!
About our arrest, I must admit I hallucinated that we weren’t badly beaten up, it’s something I anticipated when we were handcuffed in the street, I thought it was ordinary protocol in these situations (I still think so), or maybe it is the exception that confirms the norm. In truth I am perplexed, and finally I reached the non-conclusion that perhaps the fact that the media had been talking for days about “disproportionate interventions” as they called them, the mossos [Catalan cops], or that they wanted to avoid new “martyrs” who could give strength to the demonstrations … I really have no idea, but all the better for us! Insults and threats, we got. “We’ll see you in the street in Mataró when you’re outside, pig, let’s see if you stone us!” A schmit told me at the Mataró comico, before they take us handcuffed, Luca, Albo, Hernan and me, to the very shabby theatre they did to search Nabat, a squat where some of us lived, with the anti-riots posing in front of journalists in the middle of the road, before bringing us back to the cell, pff ! As well as Sara’s release, something else very positive, and that I wasn’t expecting, is that we are all here at Brians 1, in three different modules. Those of us in the same module see each other every day outside in the yard (6 hours a day, 4 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon) while we write to each other from one module to another and the letters “only” take some three days to arrive, in addition to being able to have communications, internal visits, etc. This is all very good, we support each other and that really helps. Module 4, where Albo, Luca and I are, is the quietest, as they say, “the schoolyard”, “respect module” for civil servants. Most of them are here for stup (trafficking), theft and bullshit, then there are some that in other modules would not last a day (sexual offences) and a lot of snitches, that’s why this module is so quiet, some prisoners are more guards than the guards, even more than in other modules, at the slightest thing you are sent to the special and afterwards to a conflictual module. In the end, luckily we also meet some good people, things could be much worse. Something else, before finishing, I want to express my utter contempt for the disinformation media of the regime, once again they are at the top in their efforts to manipulate public opinion with their lies, sensationalism and bullshit, supporting the repression, servile scavengers who take advantage of the ill-being of others, is that a job? Always offering a medium on which the repressive apparatuses can then build their retaliation.
Each time they are threatened, they try to sell the same story: behind the diffuse social malaise and the revolts there is only a group of conspirators, in order to be able to apply exemplary punishment, two for the price of one: on the one hand they strike those who disturb with their struggles and demands and on the other they try to frighten those who think of going out in the streets to protest. They claim to be surprised when a crowd of young people explode in rage, identifying those responsible (cops, journalists, banks, multinationals, large businesses) for increasingly precarious and miserable living conditions and for more and more suffocating social control systems. They pretend to be victims, like the worst executioners do, wolves in sheep’s clothing! I wanted to make it clear to those supporting us that this is what I think, I think it matters. Fuck the repressive apparatuses and their states! I will not give up my ideas for fear they will be criminalized.
Anyway, sorry if it’s too long, but there was a lot to say about this month and I didn’t want to do it in a boring telegram or communique style.
A huge hug to everyone! Hope I can get back to you soon! And once again, thank you for everything!
Much strength and solidarity also for the others repressed in prisons all over the world!
Freedom for all!
Down the prison walls
And long live anarchy!
Danilo
To write :

Danilo Infantino
C.P. Brians 1, Módulo 4
Apartado de correos 1000
08760 MARTORELL (Barcelona)
ESPAGNE

Up until now our letters have only been opened in our presence, without being read.
Translated by Act for freedom now!