Athens Greece: Cops murder a 16 year old
- Thread starter Dimitris
- Start date
Update from the money gathered for Konsantina (http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1030796 )
The total net amount was : 15.873 Euros
On the 15th of May 13.873 Euros were credited to Konstantina's account
and 2.000 Euros were given to support PEKOP (Konstantina's Union)
ddraig
kicking against the pricks...
audiotech
wav, aiff, mp3, ogg, flac
The point seems to be that the left want to sling out the elected government.
What else?
Didn't that happen in the UK with a miner's strike once?
Heath called an election on "who governs" and the majority of voters said not you.
A critical mass or a few extremists with enough thugs will do the job as far as a strike goes. When was the vote on the miner's strike? Was it when more than 50% returned to work or some time before that?
People do have the right of peaceful assembly but not to take petrol bombs with them or burn down the places that the 'people' say they are against.
By 'the people' I mean a few self appointed cretins with a power complex backed up by thugs.
If they create violence on that scale while their numbers are small what do you think they will do with real power?
Calm down maybe.
"we should as much as possible dispense with the division between rulers and ruled, in the name of freedom and plurality"
Wonderful but not realistic. Some people will always be more powerful than others. That's just the nature of things. When you create a power vacuum there is always someone out there that will fill it.
That's why all people's revolutions have fucked up and ended up with dictators running the show. It just doesn't work unless you can give me examples of ones that have. Saloth Sar perhaps?
The government is a vile pustule living on the blood and sweat of the peasants. Only the National Assembly and democratic rights give the people some breathing space. The new democracy which will replace the government is a matchless institution, pure as a diamond."
That, paraphrased, isn't a million miles from what these idiots are saying over there but what happened in his government. Were the people free and happy with all the land ownership records destroyed and their new communist lives are totally pissed off at it. Well the ones that didn't end up slaughtered anyway.
If these cretins get their way, the country is fucked proper style until they are dumped.
I do hope that these loonies can read a bit of history and see what happens to people's revolutions' before it's too late.
the "peoples struggle" have shot and killed a cop
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8104799.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8104799.stm
A very quick update from Greece
sorry for the haste I'll translate from proper media tomorrow hopefully, for now : execution of policeman yesterday (17th) the link: http://www.grreporter.info/statiaen.php?mysid=2203&t=11&SESID=oeqri2omu582pnd036g58s8h54
also about the MURDERERS of Alexis it has been decided to be prosecuted for murder with intent -I'll try to find the proper wording tomorrow, anyway it's not manslaughter or anything like that. (No link for that yet in English)
And about Kuneva "they" -whoever "they" were- decided to put her case on file... The link : http://www.grreporter.info/statiaen.php?mysid=2202&t=24&SESID=oeqri2omu582pnd036g58s8h54
There are too many things happening still in Greece some in the right direction, some going to hell and some really in a freakish one(like the attempt to "clear" the centre of Athens from Immigrants and Refugees and the clashes with the police) but to finish on a positive note Nikos Kountardas is going to be released tomorrow after many days of hunger and thirst strike after he was detained under ridiculous "reasons". link for Nikos and what he went through are in English from Indymedia :
Nikos Kountardas' letter from Hospital, where he is during his 13th day of hunger-strike. Since yesterday he started again thirst-strike.
- http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1036887
Also for anyone wanting to get info on the Immigrants and Refugees situation in Greece this link is in English : http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/
Sorry again for the -too- quick of an update, I'll try to translate some stuff for you guys and girls tomorrow
sorry for the haste I'll translate from proper media tomorrow hopefully, for now : execution of policeman yesterday (17th) the link: http://www.grreporter.info/statiaen.php?mysid=2203&t=11&SESID=oeqri2omu582pnd036g58s8h54
also about the MURDERERS of Alexis it has been decided to be prosecuted for murder with intent -I'll try to find the proper wording tomorrow, anyway it's not manslaughter or anything like that. (No link for that yet in English)
And about Kuneva "they" -whoever "they" were- decided to put her case on file... The link : http://www.grreporter.info/statiaen.php?mysid=2202&t=24&SESID=oeqri2omu582pnd036g58s8h54
There are too many things happening still in Greece some in the right direction, some going to hell and some really in a freakish one(like the attempt to "clear" the centre of Athens from Immigrants and Refugees and the clashes with the police) but to finish on a positive note Nikos Kountardas is going to be released tomorrow after many days of hunger and thirst strike after he was detained under ridiculous "reasons". link for Nikos and what he went through are in English from Indymedia :
Nikos Kountardas' letter from Hospital, where he is during his 13th day of hunger-strike. Since yesterday he started again thirst-strike.
- http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1036887
Also for anyone wanting to get info on the Immigrants and Refugees situation in Greece this link is in English : http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/
Sorry again for the -too- quick of an update, I'll try to translate some stuff for you guys and girls tomorrow
So killing a cop is fine is it as long as you call it execution?
Sorry bitch, your true politics of hate are showing.
Who do you have in line for 'execution' next? A few political opponents or maybe you will just have them sent for 're-education'. Is Siberia far from Athens?
I said from the start these people are just a bunch of bastards. Now I hope you can see I was right.
Foolish.
Tell us some more about the politics of hate and prejudice, derf, it sounds so sincere when you say itAnd shows just what these cunts are really about.
QED
So killing a cop is fine is it as long as you call it execution?
Sorry bitch, your true politics of hate are showing.
Who do you have in line for 'execution' next? A few political opponents or maybe you will just have them sent for 're-education'. Is Siberia far from Athens?
I said from the start these people are just a bunch of bastards. Now I hope you can see I was right.
Right. Utter bullshit.
Firstly when I posted last night-around 4ish in the morning actually- I wasn't concerned about acceptable vocabulary for people like you, I was concerned to inform even in haste, so I just "copied" the vocabulary of the article in the link, if you bothered to check it. I did not use "insolent" because when I choose to use adjectives, I choose them more carefully than the journalist in the link.
I will post later translated info about the subject from the Greek newspapers, that's for people who actually are interested in getting information on the subject and not about using this forum for other reasons.
Now as far as dogs either of the female or male sex, I am more of a cat person myself.
About the killing of the policeman in Athens on the 17th
It's already in the English speaking media so I won't translate from the Greek unless there is something new on those. One link I found is from the New York Times : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/world/europe/18greece.html?_r=1&ref=world
and this from the Washington Post : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/17/AR2009061700381.html
It's already in the English speaking media so I won't translate from the Greek unless there is something new on those. One link I found is from the New York Times : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/world/europe/18greece.html?_r=1&ref=world
and this from the Washington Post : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/17/AR2009061700381.html
free spirit
more tea vicar?
you're bang out of order with this post derf, and FYI I've reported your post and asked for you to be given at least a 24 hour ban for it - just so we're all clear and up front about things.So killing a cop is fine is it as long as you call it execution?
Sorry bitch, your true politics of hate are showing.
Who do you have in line for 'execution' next? A few political opponents or maybe you will just have them sent for 're-education'. Is Siberia far from Athens?
I said from the start these people are just a bunch of bastards. Now I hope you can see I was right.
You'd have been out of order with your language anyway, but Stella had merely linked without comment to an article about the execution of a policeman that's relevant to this thread in terms of getting the full picture (warts and all) of what's going on in greece. I really hope that you're not allowed to bully the few posters we have on the ground in greece into stopping updating this thread - a thread which IMO is probably one of the best and longest running incites into what's actually happening in Greece and why to be found anywhere on the internet (in english at least).
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
A 24h ban indeed, and given that derf's contributions to this thread have been endlessly disruptive and abusive, I would advise him in no uncertain terms to stay off this thread when he returns if he can't post anything else.
free spirit
more tea vicar?
thanks
Thanks, they have been from the beginning.
And Thanks free spirit for your post and report to the mods.
Now as far as yesterday's post about the upcoming prosecutions of the two special guards they're send to court with the charges of willful / premeditated murder and complicity to premeditated murder.
The lawyer of the family of Alexis in a comment to the press mentioned that with these charges what Alexis family was saying are proven true, that it was a murderous action and not the provocative claims of the accused.
As far as the killing of the police officer I haven't found much on the Greek press that is not mentioned on the 2 links, anyway nothing worth posting about.
At a later date I will try to post about the recent attacks from the police on different occasions against Refugees and Immigrants in Athens. The link : http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/ has plenty of info about it.
From posts on Indymedia Athens ( http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1046617 )
On Friday (19th ) the courts decided the release without bail of 4 more detained in prisons from the December Uprising (with the condition to show up on the 1st and 15th of every month to police stations and also they don't have the right to exit the country). There are still many (hundreds) that are waiting for the court's bureaucratic "system" to proceed with their cases. 2 more are still detained.
Concerts are still gathering money (there is one more today) towards the expenses -lawyers' fees etc.
On Friday (19th ) the courts decided the release without bail of 4 more detained in prisons from the December Uprising (with the condition to show up on the 1st and 15th of every month to police stations and also they don't have the right to exit the country). There are still many (hundreds) that are waiting for the court's bureaucratic "system" to proceed with their cases. 2 more are still detained.
Concerts are still gathering money (there is one more today) towards the expenses -lawyers' fees etc.
And I will, save to offer apology for the use of the word "bitch" that was indeed out of order.
for continued and updated info about Greece
Occupied London ( http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/ ) is continuing the reporting so check it for updates , it has been following the situation from the beginning .
It had a post about the clashes of Immigrants with the police : http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/...s-clash-with-police-in-athens-for-second-day/
and as I've posted before http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/ is a good source for info about the Immigrants and Refugees in Greece , with the latest post about recent violent attacks against Immigrants in Nea Manolada (Peloponnese) : http://clandestinenglish.wordpress....n-nea-manolada-peloponnese-to-set-an-example/
Whenever I find a link in English that is relevant to this thread I'll add it , for lack of time on my part to translate from the Greek ..
Occupied London ( http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/ ) is continuing the reporting so check it for updates , it has been following the situation from the beginning .
It had a post about the clashes of Immigrants with the police : http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/...s-clash-with-police-in-athens-for-second-day/
and as I've posted before http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/ is a good source for info about the Immigrants and Refugees in Greece , with the latest post about recent violent attacks against Immigrants in Nea Manolada (Peloponnese) : http://clandestinenglish.wordpress....n-nea-manolada-peloponnese-to-set-an-example/
Whenever I find a link in English that is relevant to this thread I'll add it , for lack of time on my part to translate from the Greek ..
cooperation between Greek cops and fascists
from Indymedia : http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1055459
in English and extensive reporting and links
from Indymedia : http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1055459
in English and extensive reporting and links
Last December prisoner in pretrial detention has bail application rejected
Last December prisoner in pretrial detention has bail application rejected, goes on hunger strike
Thodoros Iliopoulos is an anarchist and the last prisoner of December’s revolt still in pre-trial detention. He has been in prison since December and as of yesterday is the only prisoner of the revolt to be denied bail - still. On July 9 the court of appeals made explicit, in rejecting Iliopoulos’ application, that it did so on the grounds that Iliopoulos is an anarchist and therefore a “danger for democracy”.
What follows is a translation of Thodoros’ letter from prison, dated July 9.
Today, 9th of July 2009
On the 8th of July, after six-and-a-half months in prison, where I ended up following the incidents of December accused for things I never did, the Court of Misdemeanours ordered the extension of my pre-trial detention.
It is the only court decision ordering the extension of a detention for the events of December, at atime when every single other person in pre-trial detention for December’s revolt (with the same or other charges) has already been released.
The decision reveals personal prejudice and hatred against me; feelings that cannot be justified or explained and is a decision that is biased, unfair and illegal by default, same as any detention.
Faced with the hatred against me, against the unfair “sentence” I am serving in either case, against the stuborn denial of judges and atttorney generals to see the real facts and the truth in my case, against the obvious and unprecedented bias against me, I have no other weapon to fight with but my own body.
I am going on hunger strike. It is the only means I have left as a prisoner to shout out the truth and denounce the injustice and prejudice of the mechanisms of “justice”. To denounce the arbitrariness and the violence of a blind “justice” and its even blinder servants.
From Friday, July 10th, I will stop receiving any food and I will submit a hunger strike notification to the prison’s administration.
Those who lived the events of December, those who experienced the violence of these mechanisms, those who experienced the harshness of the pricon cell - with or without a prison sentence- those who know that the only path to freedom is resistance, those who react to the juridical arbitrariness and its horrors, are those who understand me and who will stand by my side.
I thank them in advance.
Thodoris Iliopoulos
Korydalos Prison, Athens
from: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/...l-application-rejected-goes-on-hunger-strike/
Today at 6 pm there is an assembly at Propylea and demo towards Parliament in support and solidarity to Thodori Iliopoulo
There is also a blog (in Greek) http://apofylakisithodoriiliopoulou.blogspot.com/ in solidarity and to inform about his case
There is also a petition http://petitiononline.com/tokeli41/ both in Greek and English demanding his immediate release. Please show your solidarity as you've done in the past
* His charges are supported solely on the witness accounts of two cops (MAT) those with the fingers on the guns if they are not busy throwing chemicals at demos or beating the hell out of anyone they're able to get their hands on them, you know two of the "trigger happy" ones ..
Last December prisoner in pretrial detention has bail application rejected, goes on hunger strike
Thodoros Iliopoulos is an anarchist and the last prisoner of December’s revolt still in pre-trial detention. He has been in prison since December and as of yesterday is the only prisoner of the revolt to be denied bail - still. On July 9 the court of appeals made explicit, in rejecting Iliopoulos’ application, that it did so on the grounds that Iliopoulos is an anarchist and therefore a “danger for democracy”.
What follows is a translation of Thodoros’ letter from prison, dated July 9.
Today, 9th of July 2009
On the 8th of July, after six-and-a-half months in prison, where I ended up following the incidents of December accused for things I never did, the Court of Misdemeanours ordered the extension of my pre-trial detention.
It is the only court decision ordering the extension of a detention for the events of December, at atime when every single other person in pre-trial detention for December’s revolt (with the same or other charges) has already been released.
The decision reveals personal prejudice and hatred against me; feelings that cannot be justified or explained and is a decision that is biased, unfair and illegal by default, same as any detention.
Faced with the hatred against me, against the unfair “sentence” I am serving in either case, against the stuborn denial of judges and atttorney generals to see the real facts and the truth in my case, against the obvious and unprecedented bias against me, I have no other weapon to fight with but my own body.
I am going on hunger strike. It is the only means I have left as a prisoner to shout out the truth and denounce the injustice and prejudice of the mechanisms of “justice”. To denounce the arbitrariness and the violence of a blind “justice” and its even blinder servants.
From Friday, July 10th, I will stop receiving any food and I will submit a hunger strike notification to the prison’s administration.
Those who lived the events of December, those who experienced the violence of these mechanisms, those who experienced the harshness of the pricon cell - with or without a prison sentence- those who know that the only path to freedom is resistance, those who react to the juridical arbitrariness and its horrors, are those who understand me and who will stand by my side.
I thank them in advance.
Thodoris Iliopoulos
Korydalos Prison, Athens
from: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/...l-application-rejected-goes-on-hunger-strike/
Today at 6 pm there is an assembly at Propylea and demo towards Parliament in support and solidarity to Thodori Iliopoulo
There is also a blog (in Greek) http://apofylakisithodoriiliopoulou.blogspot.com/ in solidarity and to inform about his case
There is also a petition http://petitiononline.com/tokeli41/ both in Greek and English demanding his immediate release. Please show your solidarity as you've done in the past
* His charges are supported solely on the witness accounts of two cops (MAT) those with the fingers on the guns if they are not busy throwing chemicals at demos or beating the hell out of anyone they're able to get their hands on them, you know two of the "trigger happy" ones ..
Arivan Abdullah Osman is dead. Cops, pigs, murderers
After almost four months in a coma, Arivan Abdullah Osman has passed away. Abdullah was a 29-year old Kurdish refugee from Iraq. Abdullah was severely beaten by port police in the city of Igoumenitsa in NW Greece whilst mingling in the port with others, hoping to get into on one of the trucks boarding the ferries to Italy. Eye-witnesses, police commandos repeatedly banged Abdullah’s head on the cement, causing him an internal hemorrhage. The ministry of mercantile marine, responsible for the port police, had issued a statement at the time claiming Abdullah was epileptic and that he caused the injuries upon himself.
from : http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/07/27/65-arivan-abdullah-osman-is-dead-cops-pigs-murderers/
After almost four months in a coma, Arivan Abdullah Osman has passed away. Abdullah was a 29-year old Kurdish refugee from Iraq. Abdullah was severely beaten by port police in the city of Igoumenitsa in NW Greece whilst mingling in the port with others, hoping to get into on one of the trucks boarding the ferries to Italy. Eye-witnesses, police commandos repeatedly banged Abdullah’s head on the cement, causing him an internal hemorrhage. The ministry of mercantile marine, responsible for the port police, had issued a statement at the time claiming Abdullah was epileptic and that he caused the injuries upon himself.
from : http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/07/27/65-arivan-abdullah-osman-is-dead-cops-pigs-murderers/
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
it seems going on hunger strike's quite common if what happened to simon chapman and the other thessaloniki arrested some years ago is anything to go by.
Thodoros Iliopoulos: An interview
Thodoros Iliopoulos is on his 39th day of hunger strike in the prison's hospital(the last few days)
from Occupied London : http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/08/15/70-thodoros-iliopoulos-an-interview/
“How long? Not long. Cause what you reap, is what you sow” (RATM)
The interview that follows was conducted by Ntina Daskalopoulou and published in an Athens daily this morning. It is translated and posted here as is: with no comments, additions or explanations – none is needed. After 36 days on hunger strike, Thodoros’ words are crystal clear. In his face, the State has found an enemy to unleash all its revanchist rage, some rage in reality directed against an ever-growing current of disobedience, resistance and solidarity. As long as there are people like Thodoros standing up to the wrath of the State, the next December will always be close. In the struggle against their order, Thodoros is not alone — trans.
“I took a stance for December and I am now faced with the State’s reprisal”
- Thodoros Iliopoulos
Eight months in pre-trial detention for December’s events, the last one also on hunger strike. His anticipated release in July never came, the theatre of the absurd of the charges against him continued and Thodoris remains incarcerated. But a fighter. This time, his “weapon” is his own body. He spoke to us over the phone from the prison of Korydallos. From there he sees the revanchist face of the State, that Greece of violence and repression but also another Greece of the restless youth, of the faith in ideals. Insisting on his innocence and his own beliefs. Paying dearly for both.
I hear his voice with intermissions from the loudspeakers blasting orders to the prisoners of Korydallos. He is extremely polite, low-pitched, strong within his weakness. Now fragile, but determined, in the middle of August, the month with no news, he fights the struggle for his freedom with the only weapon he has left: His own body. For more than one month now (trans: 36 days), the only remaining prisoner of December is on hunger strike. Despite having lost 12 kilos, having low pressure and suffering hypoglycaemic shocks, and although his doctors insist that he can now suffer irreversible damages, the prison administration refuses to transfer him to hospital. Thodoris Iliopoulos declares his innocence. A hostage.
- The state prosecutes you for legal offenses, felonies and misdemeanors, and considers you so dangerous that will not release you under restrictive terms. How do you feel about this?
“From December 18 I found myself being a protagonist in this theatre of the absurd. They arrested me together with others en mass, as I was walking down Akadimias Street with some friends. Five riot police units surrounded around ten of us. I started running and two of them caught up with me, they threw me on the pavement and started kicking me in the head, screaming “now you’ll see what will happen to you”. I had no idea what would happen to me. Finally, what happened was that I found myself charged with three felonies. According to the inquisitor, at the moment of my arrest I was outside the Law School throwing molotov cocktails. The only witness account existing of this is that of the two riot police who arrested me. When the inquisitor asked them if they would recognise me on the street and they responded positively, she put up her finger, showed me and said, “is it him?” She exposed me herself! Of course, the riot police… recognised me. From that point on they won’t release me because in reality they need me as hostage. From the arrested only a few took a stance for December. I’m not saying they were obliged to. I took a stance and I am faced with the State’s reprisal.
- How did you experience the December events?
“My dad is on his final days and he is suffering from altsheimer and my mom is 83 years old and cannot look after him. For this reason I only made it to the streets twice, unfortunately. It was a very good opportunity to discuss and to think, to offer solutions, to exchange ideas. Some, with dubious interests, read the events with crocodile tears, they weep for the disaster and the destruction. And yet December gave birth to a different way of thinking and most importantly, it took kids away from their playstations and internet cafes. It is naive and unfair to say that the kids took to the streets only to ease their rage. They were claiming their ideals and their dreams”.
- What was your stance toward the State and what is it now?
“If I tell you, they’ll throw me in jail for life… I’m kidding. I don’t want to assign any labels to myself, like anarchist or anti-authoritarian. I am a visionary of direct democracy, of deciding and acting together. During my teen years I was fascinated by the philosophy of anarchism from Zenon to the cynics and all the way to Enrico Malatesta. Even today, I remain fascinated by these. I am struggling for a different world. Not with molotovs and stones, but with ideas and texts. I am not the first nor the last to which the state shows its revanchist face. What bothers them, what they repress is not my action, but my stance and my ideas. They charged me with fabricated charges, they ignored the proofs I submitted of my innocence. The issue, for the state, is that I insist on thinking. And I think differently. In this sense, tomorrow morning you – or anyone else – could find yourself in my position”.
- Do you now fear the country called Greece?
“No. It is frightening to walk down Akadimias street and then to find yourself locked up in a cell for months, but I have such a great desire to live that I am not afraid. And also, beyond the Greece of repression and violence, I also see another Greece, that of a restless youth, solidarity, faith in beliefs”.
- Why did you chose the hunger strike?
“When anyone commences a hunger strike, they should normally be examined by a dentist – it is the teeth that get damaged first – and a psychiatrist to prove that s/he is not suicidal. Although this did not happen in my case, I want to assure you that I am not suicidal, I do not at all want to die. Neither do I want to suffer some irreversible damage that will leave me injured for the rest of my life. Of course, as explained by my doctor, after the 30th day of hunger strike the really serious problems begin, as some of your vital organs can fail. But really, I have no other option left. My body is my ultimate weapon.”
- Does the hunger strike flirt with death?
“Everything flirts with death. If you are a migrant, a visit to the playground of Ayios Panteleimonas can automatically mean your death. Or if you are a worker in a factory. Or if you are a cyclist in the streets of Athens. A hunger strike can bring you a few steps toward death, but closer to freedom. As the foreigner that I am in the bosses’ world, as a worker, as a cyclist, I never feared death. As a hunger striker I live with the hope of liberation, not with the fear of death”.
- You are in love, you were preparing for your release in July and a common house with your lover. What do you two say now?
“We spend endless hours talking everyday, she writes to me and I write to her, we plan out our life. We are very close, we face this as a team. The prison limits the freedom of the body, not your soul. Each time we hang up she tells me venceremos. We are young, in love and have so many beautiful things to live together. And we shall win”.
- What dreams do you have?
“In the beginning I had nightmares. With a daily struggle I managed not only to eject anything that could destroy me, but also to have dreams with power and joy. I have chosen to live creatively this chapter in my life”.
Thodoros Iliopoulos is on his 39th day of hunger strike in the prison's hospital(the last few days)
from Occupied London : http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/08/15/70-thodoros-iliopoulos-an-interview/
“How long? Not long. Cause what you reap, is what you sow” (RATM)
The interview that follows was conducted by Ntina Daskalopoulou and published in an Athens daily this morning. It is translated and posted here as is: with no comments, additions or explanations – none is needed. After 36 days on hunger strike, Thodoros’ words are crystal clear. In his face, the State has found an enemy to unleash all its revanchist rage, some rage in reality directed against an ever-growing current of disobedience, resistance and solidarity. As long as there are people like Thodoros standing up to the wrath of the State, the next December will always be close. In the struggle against their order, Thodoros is not alone — trans.
“I took a stance for December and I am now faced with the State’s reprisal”
- Thodoros Iliopoulos
Eight months in pre-trial detention for December’s events, the last one also on hunger strike. His anticipated release in July never came, the theatre of the absurd of the charges against him continued and Thodoris remains incarcerated. But a fighter. This time, his “weapon” is his own body. He spoke to us over the phone from the prison of Korydallos. From there he sees the revanchist face of the State, that Greece of violence and repression but also another Greece of the restless youth, of the faith in ideals. Insisting on his innocence and his own beliefs. Paying dearly for both.
I hear his voice with intermissions from the loudspeakers blasting orders to the prisoners of Korydallos. He is extremely polite, low-pitched, strong within his weakness. Now fragile, but determined, in the middle of August, the month with no news, he fights the struggle for his freedom with the only weapon he has left: His own body. For more than one month now (trans: 36 days), the only remaining prisoner of December is on hunger strike. Despite having lost 12 kilos, having low pressure and suffering hypoglycaemic shocks, and although his doctors insist that he can now suffer irreversible damages, the prison administration refuses to transfer him to hospital. Thodoris Iliopoulos declares his innocence. A hostage.
- The state prosecutes you for legal offenses, felonies and misdemeanors, and considers you so dangerous that will not release you under restrictive terms. How do you feel about this?
“From December 18 I found myself being a protagonist in this theatre of the absurd. They arrested me together with others en mass, as I was walking down Akadimias Street with some friends. Five riot police units surrounded around ten of us. I started running and two of them caught up with me, they threw me on the pavement and started kicking me in the head, screaming “now you’ll see what will happen to you”. I had no idea what would happen to me. Finally, what happened was that I found myself charged with three felonies. According to the inquisitor, at the moment of my arrest I was outside the Law School throwing molotov cocktails. The only witness account existing of this is that of the two riot police who arrested me. When the inquisitor asked them if they would recognise me on the street and they responded positively, she put up her finger, showed me and said, “is it him?” She exposed me herself! Of course, the riot police… recognised me. From that point on they won’t release me because in reality they need me as hostage. From the arrested only a few took a stance for December. I’m not saying they were obliged to. I took a stance and I am faced with the State’s reprisal.
- How did you experience the December events?
“My dad is on his final days and he is suffering from altsheimer and my mom is 83 years old and cannot look after him. For this reason I only made it to the streets twice, unfortunately. It was a very good opportunity to discuss and to think, to offer solutions, to exchange ideas. Some, with dubious interests, read the events with crocodile tears, they weep for the disaster and the destruction. And yet December gave birth to a different way of thinking and most importantly, it took kids away from their playstations and internet cafes. It is naive and unfair to say that the kids took to the streets only to ease their rage. They were claiming their ideals and their dreams”.
- What was your stance toward the State and what is it now?
“If I tell you, they’ll throw me in jail for life… I’m kidding. I don’t want to assign any labels to myself, like anarchist or anti-authoritarian. I am a visionary of direct democracy, of deciding and acting together. During my teen years I was fascinated by the philosophy of anarchism from Zenon to the cynics and all the way to Enrico Malatesta. Even today, I remain fascinated by these. I am struggling for a different world. Not with molotovs and stones, but with ideas and texts. I am not the first nor the last to which the state shows its revanchist face. What bothers them, what they repress is not my action, but my stance and my ideas. They charged me with fabricated charges, they ignored the proofs I submitted of my innocence. The issue, for the state, is that I insist on thinking. And I think differently. In this sense, tomorrow morning you – or anyone else – could find yourself in my position”.
- Do you now fear the country called Greece?
“No. It is frightening to walk down Akadimias street and then to find yourself locked up in a cell for months, but I have such a great desire to live that I am not afraid. And also, beyond the Greece of repression and violence, I also see another Greece, that of a restless youth, solidarity, faith in beliefs”.
- Why did you chose the hunger strike?
“When anyone commences a hunger strike, they should normally be examined by a dentist – it is the teeth that get damaged first – and a psychiatrist to prove that s/he is not suicidal. Although this did not happen in my case, I want to assure you that I am not suicidal, I do not at all want to die. Neither do I want to suffer some irreversible damage that will leave me injured for the rest of my life. Of course, as explained by my doctor, after the 30th day of hunger strike the really serious problems begin, as some of your vital organs can fail. But really, I have no other option left. My body is my ultimate weapon.”
- Does the hunger strike flirt with death?
“Everything flirts with death. If you are a migrant, a visit to the playground of Ayios Panteleimonas can automatically mean your death. Or if you are a worker in a factory. Or if you are a cyclist in the streets of Athens. A hunger strike can bring you a few steps toward death, but closer to freedom. As the foreigner that I am in the bosses’ world, as a worker, as a cyclist, I never feared death. As a hunger striker I live with the hope of liberation, not with the fear of death”.
- You are in love, you were preparing for your release in July and a common house with your lover. What do you two say now?
“We spend endless hours talking everyday, she writes to me and I write to her, we plan out our life. We are very close, we face this as a team. The prison limits the freedom of the body, not your soul. Each time we hang up she tells me venceremos. We are young, in love and have so many beautiful things to live together. And we shall win”.
- What dreams do you have?
“In the beginning I had nightmares. With a daily struggle I managed not only to eject anything that could destroy me, but also to have dreams with power and joy. I have chosen to live creatively this chapter in my life”.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
i thought it was pretty much de rigeur to go on hungerstrike in greek jails.
2nd part of the interview
from http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/
- What did you learn in prison?
“Every prison is a miniature of the society. You see people convicted of financial crimes who are interested in doing business even here, all the way to child molesters. But you also see innocents, people who had no money for a good lawyer or to pay their bail. Before coming in here I was dogmatic about this, I thought that… it’s the bad ones who are in prison. Yet in here you are forced to understand that what is bad is subjective, to admit that anyone could be a potential murderer under given circumstances.
“Everything is inside us. In prison you learn new codes and, most importantly, to trust no-one. And some ways that help your life. Here you live with the absolute minimum. What we consider rubbish outside, is useful here. Who would ever know that in order to cover your bookshelves with a curtain you would use burnt ear buttons instead of glue?”
- How do your fellow prisoners treat you?
“Political prisoners were always treated with respect by the penal ones, although I don’t want to make this distinction. We are all imprisoned and we face the same problems. We as well, even if we are political prisoners, face the penal code. My fellow prisoners support me: Nikos Tsouvalakis went on hunger strike on the same day as me, in solidarity. Other prisoners abstain from their meals. Most of them support me with simple, everyday actions: They visit me in my cell, they lend me books, they give up their place in the phone queue. ”
- What is your cell like?
“You are locked up 18 out of 24 hours in a space of maximum 8 square meters, together with another 3 prisoners. The heating is insufficient. Cockroaches and rats often make their appearance. The toilets are in the basement with broken windows and cold water.”
- The prisoners say your biggest enemy is time. How do you spend your days?
“There is this theory in prison that the more you sleep, the faster you come out. I think that the more you sleep, the less you live. Now that I can no longer walk I read in the cell, I write, I paint, I listen to music, I make DIY constructions from cheap materials.”
- What inspires you?
“The corridors, the prison bars and the barbed wire. All this has put me in the process of creating another reality, comprised of words and paintings”.
What would you tell the minister of justice if you saw him?
“I would read him a poem by poet Titos Patrikios:
I pluck the words one by one from my throat/
if they ooze blood/ wrap them in your handkerchief/
wrap them in cotton/
or then maybe grab them with a clip and say/
“he’s only saying these, to make an impression”/
Do what you want,/
but silence is not enough no more/
words are not enough no more/
I pluck the plain words, one by one/
and I send them to you.”
- How do you dream of your life after prison?
“Plain in terms of living, rich in terms of thinking – and I also want us to have a kid that won’t ever leave me alone!”
- After all this grueling experience, would you take to the streets again?
“Of course. With the only difference being that I will be absolutely ready to face any fixed-up charges. After all, I always took to the streets with my face as my only hoodie.”
and the english front page of athens indymedia about Thodoros :
http://athens.indymedia.org/?lang=en
from http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/
- What did you learn in prison?
“Every prison is a miniature of the society. You see people convicted of financial crimes who are interested in doing business even here, all the way to child molesters. But you also see innocents, people who had no money for a good lawyer or to pay their bail. Before coming in here I was dogmatic about this, I thought that… it’s the bad ones who are in prison. Yet in here you are forced to understand that what is bad is subjective, to admit that anyone could be a potential murderer under given circumstances.
“Everything is inside us. In prison you learn new codes and, most importantly, to trust no-one. And some ways that help your life. Here you live with the absolute minimum. What we consider rubbish outside, is useful here. Who would ever know that in order to cover your bookshelves with a curtain you would use burnt ear buttons instead of glue?”
- How do your fellow prisoners treat you?
“Political prisoners were always treated with respect by the penal ones, although I don’t want to make this distinction. We are all imprisoned and we face the same problems. We as well, even if we are political prisoners, face the penal code. My fellow prisoners support me: Nikos Tsouvalakis went on hunger strike on the same day as me, in solidarity. Other prisoners abstain from their meals. Most of them support me with simple, everyday actions: They visit me in my cell, they lend me books, they give up their place in the phone queue. ”
- What is your cell like?
“You are locked up 18 out of 24 hours in a space of maximum 8 square meters, together with another 3 prisoners. The heating is insufficient. Cockroaches and rats often make their appearance. The toilets are in the basement with broken windows and cold water.”
- The prisoners say your biggest enemy is time. How do you spend your days?
“There is this theory in prison that the more you sleep, the faster you come out. I think that the more you sleep, the less you live. Now that I can no longer walk I read in the cell, I write, I paint, I listen to music, I make DIY constructions from cheap materials.”
- What inspires you?
“The corridors, the prison bars and the barbed wire. All this has put me in the process of creating another reality, comprised of words and paintings”.
What would you tell the minister of justice if you saw him?
“I would read him a poem by poet Titos Patrikios:
I pluck the words one by one from my throat/
if they ooze blood/ wrap them in your handkerchief/
wrap them in cotton/
or then maybe grab them with a clip and say/
“he’s only saying these, to make an impression”/
Do what you want,/
but silence is not enough no more/
words are not enough no more/
I pluck the plain words, one by one/
and I send them to you.”
- How do you dream of your life after prison?
“Plain in terms of living, rich in terms of thinking – and I also want us to have a kid that won’t ever leave me alone!”
- After all this grueling experience, would you take to the streets again?
“Of course. With the only difference being that I will be absolutely ready to face any fixed-up charges. After all, I always took to the streets with my face as my only hoodie.”
and the english front page of athens indymedia about Thodoros :
http://athens.indymedia.org/?lang=en
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