Greece: Support the arrested comrades in Thessaloniki

Free Salonika prisoners

Collectives of anarchists in Greece and Britain issued a call for solidarity with the Thessaloniki Quartet. More than 100 people were arrested after a demonstration against the EU summit , held in Thessaloniki in 2003. Seven received prison sentences, including a demonstrator from England by Simon Chapman , who after the arrest the police had planted a backpack with Molotov cocktails. After the arrest of the prisoners declared a hunger strike, which lasted more than 50 days.In the year 2003. Therefore, worldwide solidarity actions were accompanied by demonstrations, direct action and occupation, resulting in all the seven were released on bail. Eventually all charges were dropped, but a few years after the appeal the prosecutor charges were brought again .

The first decision the court ruled in January 2008, according to which Simon Chapman and three other defendants - Suleiman "Castro" Dakduk (Syria), Fernando Perez Gorraiz (Spain) and Michaelis Triakapis (Greece), were found guilty.

All of them proclaim their innocence.In addition, the available photos and videos suggests that the police planted Simon backpack full of Molotov cocktails ( as is ). However, this fact has not played a significant role, and Chapman had received eight years in prison, the other defendants - more than five years.

In January 2011 they will appear before the Court of Appeal, on which they will have the opportunity to appeal the charges.

This means that we have less than two months to organize a campaign to collect the required amount of money and show real solidarity with the accused.

Information about how you can help on the following sites:

London Indymedia

Thessaloniki Solidarity

Links on the subject material:

Greece - cop on a motorcycle shot down to death 6-year-old girl

Greece: sentence murderers in uniform who shot and killed an anarchist Alexandros Grigoropolos

Greece: a demonstration dedicated to the thirty-seventh anniversary of the uprising of students at the Politechnik university (photo, video)

Greece: general strike paralyzed the country

Author columns

Антти Раутиайнен

June 11th is the International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason & All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. This action day has a long history, it was organized first time 20 years ago in 2004. In the first year, we managed to paint a graffiti to wall of one of the most guarded objects of Moscow,...

6 months ago
Антти Раутиайнен

Anarchist group ANA Regensburg hosted my online-presentation on 16th of May 2024, in which I discussed tactics of anti-war activism in Russia, and reasons why the anti-war movement has not been able to make an impact to change the course of events yet. Cases of anarchists repressed for anti-war...

6 months ago