News

On December 22, Judge E.K. Yermolina of the 153rd Judicial Precinct [in Saint Petersburg] sentenced Filipp Kostenko, an activist and employee of the human rights organization Memorial Anti-Discrimination Center, to another fifteen days of administrative arrest. For his involvement in mass protests against the rigged elections, Kostenko had already served fifteen days in jail, but in violation of procedure he was not released [as scheduled, on December 21]. As we have previously reported, the decision for Kostenko’s compulsory delivery to court was sent to the administration of the detention facility [where he was serving his first sentence] a few minutes before his anticipated release. This decision was made due to the fact that Kostenko had failed to appear in court [on December 9], although at that time he was serving fifteen days of administrative arrest.
 

Filip Kostenko is one of the hundreds of people, arrested in Russia during a crackdown against protests against bogus elections. He was singled out as a political activist, and given a 15 day arbitrary prison sentence. He has been in a hungerstrike since 7th of December. 

18th of November 2011, 17-year old anti-fascist Mikhail Norokha was murdered in Dnepropetrovsk of Ukraine. His body was found 8 meters from an abandonded, 16 floor house. He deceased due to multiple fractures and internal bleeding, which resulted from a falling. Although he falled to his back, his nose was broken and he also had scratches in his face. Also, there were remains of pepper gas in his clothes, and his coat was torn, which is additional proof that this was not a suicide. Also, Mikhail had his mobile phone, documents and money left with him - murderers took nothing from him. 

28th and 29th of September 2011 four persons (two young men and two young woman) were detained in Moscow, suspected of crimes under statute 213 part 2 ("hooliganism") and statute 167 part 2 ("property destruction with arson") of Russian criminal codex. They are suspected of having committed a bomb attack against traffic police station in 22th kilometre of Moscow ringroad 7th of June 2011, and arson against an excavator in construction site of Volokamski motorway 5th of June 2011. Police did not have any proof about participation of the arrested to these actions, and 3th of October all of them were released. Goal of the arrests was solely to pressure anarchists to give testimony with means of psychological and physical torture.

Human Rights Center "Viasna" and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee recognized Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Dziadok and Aliaksandr Frantskevich as political prisoners of the present regime. The human rights defenders came to this conclusion on the basis of analysis of the so-called “Case of Anarchists”.

The last European dictator is now trading people's freedom for loans from the west. He has now set 24 political prisoners free. Please find below links to the petition to liberate Belorussian anarchists. The petition has also been signed by members of several political parties and organisations in Belarus and abroad:

We call on concerned academics around the world to sign the petition to Administration of Tyumen State University and Russian higher education authorities.

Andrey Kutuzov is a Russian anarchist academic who has been teaching linguistics at Tyumen State University (Western Siberia). He is also an activist and participant in grassroots movements. 7 September 2011 Andrey was dismissed by Gennady Chebotarev, the rector of the University. We believe that Andrey was dismissed because of pressure from the local authorities on the university administration. The official reason for the dismissal was declared “committing an immoral deed” referring to the recent case of repression for his political activities.

Now greece can sleep in peace. PASOK’S justice sentenced the 18yearold then Kostandina to 11years imprisonment with no proof, no evidence, not even based on her age. She may be the only political prisoner that is under 20 in the world. If there is another its probably in a country in banania. They sentenced her at a trial that was between a court martial and an inquisition, without taking into consideration neither the witnesses nor all the evidence that shouted her innocence.

Today, about 10 a.m. Sosnovoborsky City Court granted the petition of the political prisoner Alexey Sokolov parole.

At 15 p.m. Alexey appeared in front of penal colony №40, where lawyer Roman Kachanov waited for him. I managed to phone to take short interview with Aleksey:

- Alexey! How are you and what do you feel? How much court decision on your parole was expected?

Since 19th of July, Russian anho.org (shorthand for "Anarchist Hosting") has been targeted with a DDoS - attack. Since then, numerous activist websites have been unaccessible - including Indymedia-Siberia and various anarchist groups (Autonomous Action of Kazan, Autonomous Action of Irkutsk, Inter-Professional Union of Workers etc.). Main goal of the attackers is antijob.anho.org - website, committed to defence of workers against employers. This project includes popular feature "black list of employers" where workers are reporting problematic employers.

Pelican Bay State Prison Security Housing Units Peaceful Protest Hunger Strike Starting July 1, 2011

Rinat Sultanov - anarchist anti-fascist and RASH-skinhead from Saint Petersburg of Russia, who was sentenced to two years in prison for a fight with Nazis, which took place 4th of November 2008, is being transferred. During transfer, which may take more than a month, his whereabouts are unknown. Please remove Rinat's address from prisoner lists until his new prison address is known.

Dedok Nikolai Aleksandrovich / Dziadok Mikalai Aliaksandravich*
 IK-15, 213105, Mogilev, p/o Veino, Slavgorodskoe shosse, 5 km. KARANTIN
 BELARUS

Frantskevich Aleksandr Vladimirovich / Frantskevich Aliaksandr Uladzimiravich*
 IK-22 “Volchi nory”, 225295 , Brestskaya obl., Ivatsevichski r-n, st. Domanovo KARANTIN
BELARUS

Olinevich Igor Vladimirovich / Alinevich Ihar Uladzimiravich*
IK-10, 211440, Vitebskaya obl., Novopolotsk, ul. Tekhnicheskaya, 8 KARANTIN
 BELARUS

Vaskovich Evgeni Sergeevich / Vas’kovich Jauhen Siarheevich (KGB attack)*
IK-15, 213105, Mogilev, p/o Veino, Slavgorodskoe shosse, 5 km. KARANTIN
BELARUS
 

On the 27th of May, judge Zhanna Khvoynitskaya sentenced the Belarusian anarchists Ihar Alinevich, Mikalaj Dziadok, Aliaksandar Frantskievich, Maxim Vetkin and Yeveni Slivonchik. The young men were accused of a number of political actions, amongst which was the attack against the Russian embassy in Minsk in August of 2010. 

 Ihar Alinevich was accused of attacks against the Russian Embassy and Belarusbank ("Property destruction with intent", statute 218 paragraph 3 of the Belarusian Criminal Codex), an attack against the remand prison of Minsk (also statute 218, paragraph 2), an attack against a Casino and an illegal demonstration at the military headquarters ("Aggravated hooliganism", statute 339 paragraph 2 of Belarusian criminal codex). The prosecutor asked for a 9 year sentence in hard regime, eventually he received 8 years of hard regime (1).    

Background [see also correction at bottom]: there was some noisy party in some apartment in Barcelona, in the confuse events that followed an agent was hit by a potted plant thrown from a balcony causing him severe injuries that left him paraplegic.

Strangely the municipal police, instead of investigating properly and persecuting whoever threw the pot, decided to blame this on the squatter movement. First they decided that the apartment in question was "related" somehow to the squatter movement, something these deny, then they changed the story of the potted plant for a stone, finally they accused this girl, Patricia Heras, of throwing not the stone but a mobile fence in the course of the confusing struggle.

28th of April, hip-hop musician Andrei "KUBA" Kravchenko was kidnapped by police in Moscow in university, where he was about to pass his final exams in faculty of PR. He was handcuffed and taken to police station of "Bogorodskoe", from where he was further sent by airplane to his hometown, distant city of Chita in Siberia.

30th of April, Andrey was interrogated in criminal case against local anti-fascist activists, and eventually released court pending. Case dates back to September of 2010, when a group of local Nazis, lead by Semen Murzin, claimed to local polcie that they had been beaten up by anti-fascists. Five anti-fascist were charged with "hooliganism", but eventually three of them have been requalified from suspects to witnesses.

From 2nd of 9th of April 2011 and after, actions to defend “Khimki hostages”, Alexei Gaskarov and brothers Maxim and Denis Solopov were organised in six countries and
25 cities. Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov are currently out from jail, in court facing charges following from a demonstration, which was organised 28th of July 2010 in Moscow suburg of Khimki against construction of Moscow-St. Petersburg toll road, and the gross human rights violations against its opposers. Denis Solopov has been granted an UNCHR refugee status in Ukraine, but in beginning of April he was detained and is currently waiting his deportation court in Lykyanovka prison of Kiev.

Released their second album "Fellow Arcadia" - the Executive, which is close to our ideas. The album featured nine new songs performed with guitar accompaniment. Comrade Arkady before that for several years played in the infamous hardcore band, adhering to leftist ideas, but now switched to a different genre. Lyrics and poetry is quite acceptable level. The author has talent, and previous experience probably helps. On the subject of a socially-oriented lyrics.

Presentation of the new organization took place at a concert in support of Barnaul anarchists, which was held on April 16. Group ACHK-Irkutsk acted as the organizer of the show, and some of us have been involved and in the music program. Seven groups and projects from Irkutsk and Angarsk presented a wide palette of musical styles - from dub to noise.

For details and photos see the blog ACHK-Irkutsk

On Wednesday, April 13, students of Lviv held mass protest "against the degradation of education", which was attended by no less than 4 thousand people. Everything began with the rally near the monument of Ivan Franko, where students painted posters, writing on the stands of their grievances and demands to the Ministry of Education and conducted the orchestra rehearsal protest.