Enough with the state murders! Protest in Edinburgh

Four months ago it was a 15-year-old schoolboy in Greece
– today it’s a 47-year-old newspaper seller in the UK.


Enough with the state murders!


Whether civilians’ deaths are caused because of “heart attacks” (most likely due to police terror) or head injuries (due to police brutality) or “misfires” (due to police stupidity), we say we had Enough!

Enough! Of your lies in attempting to cover up your mistakes
Enough! Of your “Robocop” attitude
Enough! Of your “to serve and protect” fake masks
Enough! Of you being the guardian dogs of the privileged elite

We say Enough! and we are going to say it out loud so everyone can hear us.

Saturday 11th of April at 1:30pm in Bristo Square (Edinburgh)

Bring friends, banners, candles and something to make noise with (drums, whistles etc.)

Kingsnorth report: police intimidation against protesters

Climate Camp's legal support team produced a report documenting a concerted campaign by police to deter, smear, intimidate, harass, and criminalise protesters who did nothing more than attempt to exercise their right to peaceful protest in the name of an important cause.

The twenty three page long report manages to successfully capture the violation of the right of protesting in the UK. A violation that is being carried out by the police forces and with the eulogies of the legal frame in this country.

Amongst others the report illustrates cases of:

• police use of search powers and protesters identification
• seizure of property
• aggressive police intrusions onto the camp site and causes of sleep deprivation(form of torture?!) and,
• defaming of protesters

In order to comply with police's requests, protesters have been threatened of arrest for (amongst others):

• theft of protesters' own bank cards, phones or camp equipment
• immigration offenses for those with foreign accents

Police's mischief and/or over-stretching of their powers as the sole factors resulting in such outrageous policing tactics should be debated. The examples given within this report on the policing tactics of the Kingsnorth Climate Camp are typical of the way police deals with demonstrations and protesting in the UK.

Seen not as yet another “isolated” event , the extent to which the traditional trias politica (exceutive, legislature, judiciary) – and of course the fourth form of power which is today the media - of this state actually facilitate and welcome such practices oughts to be addressed.

Update: Arrests during December’s social uprising/ Financial aid from Edinburgh

Up to the 13th of March, the confirmed nation-wide arrests related to December’s uprising in Greece reach two-hundred and sixty eight. Of them, a hundred and eight are immigrants who where arrested between the 6th and 17th of December 2008.

So far forty-five people are thought to already be behind bars awaiting trial (with twenty-five of them being immigrants). Fifteen of them have already been confirmed:

• Ten people are being held at Koridalos prison in Athens
• Four people at Avlona, and
• One person at Diavata

(Source: Open assembly for Solidarity to the Arrestees of the Greek Uprising after communication with the legal representatives of arrestees)

It 's worth noting that nineteen of the people arrested in the city of Larissa are being prosecuted under the new anti-terrorism laws, something that has initiated a wave of solidarity actions and protests in that city and elsewhere.

In an attempt to rise money/show solidarity to all arrestees of December’s social apprising, a series of solidarity events including concerts have and are still taking place all over Greece.

Edinburgh financial aid to those arrested

Half of the money raised during January’s gig here in Edinburgh has already reached Greece. They were given as donation during Wxra speirohaith‘s fundraising event (on the 14th of March in Athens ) for the same issue.

The rest of the money will be given directly to the Open assembly for Solidarity to the Arrestees of the Greek Uprising within next week.

Information on the financial needs of those arrested are still relatively limited. One main reason is that a considerable amount of the cases has not reached the court yet. It is expected, however, that in the forthcoming months, there should be a clearer view on the number of those arrested, the charges they face, as well as any courts’ decisions.

! Greek to English, French, German, Spanish and Italian translations needed !

Administrators of the 'Open Assembly for Solidarity to the Detainees from the Greek Uprising' blog are seeking people who can help with the translation of their blog in the following languages:

• English
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Italian

Anyone who would like to volunteer, can contact them directly via their blog. Link here

Criminalizing Everyday Life: Taking photos of police officers a crime

New laws - coming to effect from 16th of February - that will allow for the arrest and imprisonment of anyone who takes pictures of officers 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'.

The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 amends the Terrorism Act 2000 regarding offences relating to information about members of armed forces, a member of the intelligence services, or a police officer.

The new set of rules, under section 76 of the 2008 Act and section 58A of the 2000 Act, will target anyone who 'elicits or attempts to elicit information about [members of armed forces] … which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'.

Read more here - (article in the British Journal of Photography)

Solidarity Gig a success!

A big THANK YOU to Mozkorrak, Bottomfeeders and all of you that showed up at Sunday's gig.

Approximately £220 were raised during that evening. There are already several suggestions as to where and how the money will be sent to Greece for the legal expenses of the arrestees. This will be finalized at the forthcoming general meeting that is to be held soon.

Those that could not make it and want to contribute towards the fund-raising, please send us an email to arrange.

You can check out two videos - in youtube- from the gig:
Mozkorrak
Bottomfeeders

More photos and videos from the event will be uploaded here within the week.

Solidarity/Benefit Gig for greek activists- Sunday, 6pm

The day when 15 year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos was shot dead by police without provocation, marked the beginning of a social uprising in Greece. His unlawful killing quickly became a symbol for the peoples disquiet with political corruption and media manipulation and propaganda. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets to protest and actively reclaim a better social, political and economic system that is based on humans' basic rights of freedom and wellbeing and not capital or profit.

Since the 6th of December 2008 and until the 14th of January 2009 there have been 273 arrests*:
67 people already in prison awaiting trials.
19 people arrested in Larisa are being prosecuted under new anti-terrorist laws
(*source http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=969401)

In Solidarity to the Greek comrades and their social struggle, a gig is to be held this Sunday. It starts at 6pm in Forest Cafe, Edinburgh. Bands performing include: MOZKORRAK (drunken oi-oi) and BOTTOMFEEDERS ( local mentalists playing ersecore punk noise).

Entry is free, with donations towards legal expenses for those arrested during the Greek uprising

Tasers – potentially lethal and easy to abuse

Tasers – potentially lethal and easy to abuse

16 December 2008
Amnesty International has said that industry claims that Taser stun guns are safe and non-lethal do not stand up to scrutiny. The organization called on governments to limit their deployment to life-threatening situations or to suspend their use.

The call came as the organization released one of the most detailed reports to date on the safety of the stun gun. The report "USA: Less than lethal?" is being published as the number of people who died after being struck by Tasers in the USA reached 334 between 2001 and August 2008.

"Tasers are not the 'non-lethal' weapons they are portrayed to be," said Angela Wright, US researcher at Amnesty International and author of the report. "They can kill and should only be used as a last resort.

"The problem with Tasers is that they are inherently open to abuse, as they are easy to carry and easy to use and can inflict severe pain at the push of a button, without leaving substantial marks."

Amnesty International’s study – which includes information from 98 autopsies – found that 90 per cent of those who died after being struck with a Taser were unarmed and many did not appear to present a serious threat.

Many were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks – far more than the five-second "standard" cycle – or by more than one officer at a time. Some people were even shocked for failing to comply with police commands after they had been incapacitated by a first shock.

In at least six of the cases where people died, Tasers were used on individuals suffering from medical conditions such as seizures – including a doctor who had crashed his car when he suffered an epileptic seizure. He died after being repeatedly shocked at the side of the highway when, dazed and confused, he failed to comply with an officer's commands.

Police officers also used Tasers on schoolchildren, pregnant women and even an elderly person with dementia.

In March 2008, an 11-year-old girl with a learning disability was shocked with a Taser after she punched a police officer in the face. The officer had been called to the school in Orange County, Florida, after the child had become disturbed, pushing desks and chairs and spitting at staff.

Existing studies – many of them funded by the industry – have found the risk of these weapons to be generally low in healthy adults. However, these studies are limited in scope and have pointed to the need for more understanding of the effects of such devices on vulnerable people, including those under the influence of stimulant drugs or in poor health.

Recent independently-funded animal studies have found that the use of these kinds of electro-shock weapons can cause fatal arrhythmias in pigs, raising further questions about their safety on human subjects. It was also recently reported that nearly ten per cent of 41 Tasers tested in a study commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, delivered significantly more current than the manufacturer said was possible, underscoring the need for independent verification and testing of such devices.

Although most of the 334 deaths nationwide have been attributed to factors such as drug intoxication, medical examiners and coroners have concluded that Taser shocks caused or contributed to at least 50 of these deaths.

"We are very concerned that electro-shock weapons such as Tasers have been rolled out for general use before rigorous, independent testing of their effects," said Angela Wright.

article source

Contact with Greenpeace for Legal Support

Hello Group

The police will uphold and protect the right to peaceful protest. If
your protests are peaceful and nonviolent (no shouting, throwing things,
waving fists, rude language and aggressive and illegal behaviour) then
you should be fine. Article 11 of the European Convention on Human
Rights (to which Scotland is a signatory) states

ARTICLE 11

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to
freedom of association with others,

including the right to form and to
join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

2. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights
other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a
democratic society in the interests of national security or public
safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of
health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of
others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful
restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed
forces, of the police or of the administration of the State.

This means that if you cause an obstruction, or cause harassment, alarm
and distress to others, or commit acts of violence the police have the
right to stop the protest ie impose lawful restrictions.

So the best thing (and what every organisation who wants to organise a
legal protest

does) would be to go in person to the police and explain
what you are planning to do, where and for how long and ask for their
advice and support. They should then treat it as a legal demonstration
and be there to ensure there is no violence and the laws of peaceful
protest are being obeyed. There may be streets or areas in Edinburgh
where they do not wish you to go, or there is a risk of
obstruction/congestion. They usually film and photograph protesters on
illegal protests. So establishing a polite and reasonable dialogue with
the police is a really good idea!

Good luck

Acropolis Solidarity Banner

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Radio reports this morning that the ballistic examination is out and the “ricocheting” scenario is now official. As explained in a previous post, it is highly unlikely this is the truth. According to eye-witnesses (the friend of Alexandros included) the murderer cop shot straight at him.

At 8 am today the building of GSEE (General Confederation of Workers in Greece) was occupied by insurgent workers, according to their own statement. An open workers assembly has been called for 6pm.

Huge banners were hanged in front of the Acropolis, calling for tomorrow’s mass demonstration…

A government spokesman called yesterday’s state-run TV station occupation “an attempt to overthrow democracy”. The action was also condemned by the communist party (kke).

Article from http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/