Solidarity with those prosecuted for the Revolutionary Struggle case”
Solidarity with those prosecuted for the same case
Freedom to K.Katsenos who is prosecuted for the same case”
The 7th day of the trial of Revolutionary Struggle began with the interventions of advocates D.Vagianou, K.Dailianas, S.Fitrakis, and A.Paparousou concerning the freezing of accounts carried out by the independent Authority of Fighting the Legalization of Income from Criminal Activities and the Financing of Terrorism and Controlling of the Wealth situation Statements, without the defendants been convicted for terrorism offences. Which means that a trial begins without the evidence of innocence suggesting that offences have been committed. Since a specific Higher Authority has decided that the accused are guilty of terrorism offences, what is the reason to continue this trial, stressed S.Fitrakis. One demand of the advocates is that the judges give a guarantee that the accused are still on trial and their frozen wealth can be returned to them.
S.Nikitopoulos intervening stated that they classify him in the list of people who are suspects of state terrorism, while corrupt politicians and businessmen are absent. He claimed that as an anarchist he does not have illusions because he knows how far state oppression can go, but article 187A dismisses the evidence of innocence and blatantly standardize offences.
The judge announced that the advocates can take the document that confirms that the trial is in progress from the secretariat.
After that, P.Roupa noted that the dismissal of the application to exclude K.Papathanasakis as a witness was expected, since it is a trial clearly political with an evident convergence between the juridical body and the oppressive mechanisms. It is document of official charges which is up in the air and since K.Papathanasakis will testify whatever they transferred to him he cannot be evaluated, thus closes the road for the judges to judge what’s right and what’s wrong. Anyway, she stressed “you are here as political figures and not as judges”. Continuing, P.Roupa accused Papathanasakis of being a murderer and torturer who has a lawsuit pending against him for the murder of a Pakistani immigrant, when he was serving in Nikea police station in 2008, while he was the one who abused and tortured K.Gournas. This is the kind of person that will support this whole corroded list of official charges.
Followed the testimony of Papathanasakis with the judge and prosecutor asking some formal questions, while he provocatively answered most with “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember”, making it impossible for him to give a detailed account about the investigation he carried out. Specifically he claimed that he was present only at two initial surveillances, while for the rest he simply gathered oral statements and not written. When the advocates attacked him saying that ‘when a witness states facts from third party information, they are obliged to name the source of their information’, he answered that he cannot remember the names of his sources because the whole anti-terrorist force was in the operation, which means 100-200 people.
More specifically, to the questions of the prosecutor and judge, Papathanasakis mentioned tha the reason for the surveillances was the clash in Dafni with L.Foundas in the house of which they found a phonecard from which two phonecalls had been made to two specific numbers which belong to N.Maziotis and V.Stathopoulos. Also he testified that in the possession of V.Stathopoulos was found a note with mobile numbers and coded names which belong to S.Nikitopoulos and Ch.Kortesis and only accepted phonecalls from cardphones (payphones). The mobile of S.Nikitopoulos had not received any calls while the other mobile was not even found in the possession of Ch.Cortesis. In the trial brief also, of the 149 calls made to the latter mobile, only 15 were recorded, those made from a cardphone. To G.Rahiotis question why this happened, Papathanasakis said that the rest of the calls were not considered important. Obviously though the recording of the other calls was not in the interest of Papathanasakis and his service, because the theory that the mobile phone had a conspiratorial function, would collapse immediately. As for the person who listen to the calls live, Papathanasakis does not remember who it was.
Another point on which the advocates focused on was the meeting in Kesariani. According to the testimony of Papathanasakis, from a phone discussion that took place on 31/3/2010, the service was very legitimately lead to the conclusion that the organization is preparing a hit and characterized the meeting in Kesariani conspiratorial, because N.Mazitotis left the car far away and wore sunglasses to the meeting point. He hid of course the fact that the meeting took place in the mornig, that the accused V.Stathopoulos, S.Nikitopoulos and Ch.Cortesis had parked the their car and motorbikes in the parking lot next to the meeting point, that they stood at the parking lot for a minute and spoke in public view and nothing conspiratorial took place at that meeting.
Quite pressing was advocate M.Daliani concerning the testimony of Papathanasakis according to which V.Stathopoulos on 5/4/2010 went towards Hymitos to a deserted area, in which gunshots were later heard. After a little while V.Stathopoulos left and after an investigation they found bullet shells, which were not identified with the guns, which means that he went there to practise shooting. The advocate presented a document of the autopsy report that mentions that this specific incident took place on 11/4/2010, while V.Stathopoulos had already been arrested since 9/4/2010. To the question of the advocate how this could have happened, Papathanasakis answered that its the first time he notices the contradiction.
Especially contradicting was also the evidence he gave concerning the surveillance of the home of V.Stathopoulos on Likourgou street, which he named a lair. According the report of his inferiors, V.Stathopoulos and Ch.Kortesis left the house on Likourgou street and with a motorbike head to the house of comrade V.Stathopoulos where the latter gets off. After a couple of hours Ch.Kortesis comes out of the house on Likourgou street, without anyone noticing him going in again, this time accompanied by N.Maziotis where they get into a renault megane. According to police information, the car had Audi licence plates and had been stolen inThessaloniki. To the question of the advocates how could Ch.Kortesis come out twice from the house, while seen going in just once, Papathanasakis answered that probably it is an omission of the police officers who preformed the surveillance, without of course naming the officers.
A particular interest was presented by a series of questions by the advocates whether if during the surveillance they collected evidence for individual actions.
To questions such as:
‘Did they realize the access of some of the accused to the houses named as “lairs” during the surveillance?’
‘During the surveillance of the phones did someone get traced live planning a punishable act?’
‘Was one of the accused traced making a call from a cardphone?’
‘Were fingerprints of the accused found in any of the houses “lairs”, guns or cars?
‘What punishable act results from the meeting in a public place of some people who have friendly relations or from the visit of a person to friends or relatives house?’
the answers of Papathanasakis were negative, stressing that the only punishable act that took place was the use of a stolen car and that their arrest took place for preventive reasons.
G.Rahiotis insisted especially on the fact that the American embassy had put a bounty of $1.000.000 on Revolutionary Struggle and addressing the witness asked if he received that money. Papathanasakis answered that he knows nothing about money and if the advocate wants he can address the American embassy to find out. Finally the advocate revealed that during the holding of Ch.Kortesis in GADA (central police headquarters of Athens), the latter weirdly denied the use of his advocate while the advocate himself insistently asked to see him for 2 days, but they wouldn’t allow him to. Papathanasakis provocatively answered once more answered that he is not aware that this happened.
The trial will continue on Monday 12/12/2011 where Papathanasakis will be examined by the rest of the advocates.
translation by boubourAs/Actforfreedomnow!
Assembly of solidarity
to the imprisoned and persecuted fighters
Are you going to have a trial with witnesses or with proof of evidence the scenario of the Anti-terrorist force?
This is the essential question faced by the terror-court of Koridallos, before the hearing begins with the examination of the prosecution witnesses. Legally, this question took the form of a dispute from the side of the defence with the examination as a witness of Kostandinos Papathanasiou, officer of the Police, head of the 1st Department of Internal Security of the Management and Facing of Special Crimes of Violence,(ΔΑΕΕΒ) as is the formal service name of the infamous Anti-terrorist force.
We will try to explain as simply as possible the substance of the matter put, in order for all those who are not acquainted with legal matters to realize it.
The Code of Penal Law, -not only the existing one, but the one that was in force before 1950- forbids to examine as witnesses anyone who has been involved in the interrogations for the case in matter. This is a main protection of the rights of the defendant, because these specific people have knowledge of the case and have formed, to one degree or another, the frame in which this case got to court to be tried. Hence, it is considered from the start that they are not outspoken witnesses, but have an opinion for the case and the defendants (does not matter if its for or against). Beyond the formed opinion they have, many times they also have a personal interest from the outcome of the case according to the frame which themselves, as interrogating or preliminary employees, have formed. A police officer, for example, does not want a case which he/she “set up”to be proven a fiasco and that is why as a witness they will act with prejudice for the the case he/she “set up”. As a small guarantee therefore, article 211 of the Code of Penal Law forbids witnesses who have had interrogating or preliminary duties in the case, to testify. There is, actually, a legislation that forbids even secretaries of preliminary interrogations to testify as witnesses, let alone people who had the responsibility of the “set up”of a case, such as the cop in question.
Lets see, therefore, what goes for the specific officer, as described with numerous details from the defence advocates.
M.Daliani presented the legal frame in which are based the objections of the defence. Article 211 of the C.P.L. forbids witnesses to testify who have practised interrogating duties, because suspicions of prejudice and defending of service interests arise, article 33 of the C.P.L. defines who are those who practised interrogating duties, clearly defining that interrogating duty is also every action that took place in the frame of the preliminary interrogation. Only the preliminary interrogator has knowledge of the trial brief, while those foreign to the interrogation have no right to gain knowledge (therefore, the knowledge of Papathanasakis is knowledge of the preliminary interrogator). The preliminary interrogation for the specific case began from the Department of Criminal Prosecution against Life in GADA (Athens police headquarters), after the death of Lambros Foundas, while the next day already the 1st Department of Internal Terrorism of the DAEEB took over, head of which is Papathanasakis. This is shown clearly from the stamps on the official documents. Papathanasakis collected all of the material, he gave the order to the Service of Criminal Investigations (police labs) to collect and investigate of numerous proof, he asked for the lifting of the secrecy of some phone lines, he informed the interrogator, he signs the whole of the lists with the evaluation of findings when the trial brief was transferred to the public prosecutor. He, himself gave a preliminary testimony in which he did not bring any proof of evidence, went ahead however to an evaluation of all material. He also testified to the special appeals prosecutor, where he even asked to use his notes so he does not forget anything. He seems to have such detailed knowledge, because he is the preliminary interrogator as the head of the department that preformed it. For this, he has a service interest to claim that his version is the right one. It is characteristic that he is the only one of the prosecution witnesses who refers to some of the defendants, such as for example Stathopoulos. This is why he should be excluded.
Anny Paparoussou continued, and read out Papathanasakis testimony, in which is included a large list of preliminary acts in which he participated: he asked for the secrecy lift on specific phone lines, made the evidence chart, made the chart for the documents for the trials brief, made the proof chart, the document of the DAEEB towards the special appeals interrogator etc.etc. Almost all of the trials brief is made by him. He practised preliminary and interrogating duties. He mentioned many incidents, not from his immediate knowledge, interpreting them. He is the one who gave the meaning to the whole case. For Nikitopoulos this meaning is of defining importance. He evaluated two meetings, which anyone could, and called him a member of the organization. He sent the interrogator ready made conclusions under the form of an essay.
The “antiterrorist”legislations have an immediate relation with the matter in discussion, pointed out D. Vagianou. As a result of these legislations was added to the C.P.L., article 253A, that concerns interrogative actions for “terrorism”cases. These interrogative actions were carried out by Papathanasakis as the head in charge. He was the protagonist as an interrogative organ in the interrogating procedures with a political content. He had a managerial task, he was the maestro of the orchestra. It is unacceptable for him to testify, because consciously or subconsciously will try to justify what he did.
P. Roumeliotis returned concisely to the legal matters and described the actions of Papathanasakis, which are these that the CPL defines as interrogating actions. According to the legislation, pointed out the advocate, interrogating employee is even whoever carries out an arrest or the 2nd degree interrogating employee, who simply is present and signs, without doing anything, let alone he who coordinates everything. The ratio of the law says that the specific employee open to any kind of pressures and will not be objective. Papathanasakis does not simply mention incidents, but makes conclusions that lead specific accused to condemnation. For example, he penalizes a meeting. From the outcome of this case he hopes for a better professional evolution, without forgetting that in these cases there are major ethical and professional benefits, there are bounties, which means economic gains. If Papathanasakis testifies, then there will be a tear away from the values of a ‘fair trial’, as defined by article 6 of the European Convention for Human Rights.
H. Ladis noted that all the pre-trial demands that were rejected by the court. In some of them there was a legal base, as for example the objection for the political offence, while in this case it does not exist. The forbidding of article 211 of the CPL is a foundational lawful forbidding, which has been applied throughout time. Based on this even the secretary of the interrogation is excluded from being a witness and this is an answer to the legitimate protest of every defendant that there is prejudice against them. In this case, the witness is the basic figure of the prejudice. He became a witness, because he has never been a witness in anything and simply makes a mixture, transforming into a testimony anything that has been gathered, in order to create a specific image against specific defendants. What will we say to the defendants that claim that they have across them the whole mechanism? Why did they not 4-5 cops as witnesses, if there were, that can testify what they realized first hand? Why do they bring the second hand and not those who allegedly mentioned things to Papathanasakis? If you reject this self-explanatory demand, he continued, it would as if you hope that soon this legislation section will be abolished. In the meantime, there will be a major blow to the feeling of justice that every citizen has.
Laconic K. Dailianas, agreed with his pre spoken colleagues and noted that from the content of the two testimonies of Papathanasakis it comes out that he testifies nothing as his own knowledge, but whatever he learnt from his service as a interrogative employee.
From the above, we think its clear what this is about. We note that it is about a turn in the tactic of the Anti-terrorist. In the trials of the 17N and R.P.S not even a nostril of ‘anti-terrorist’ appeared to testify. Only two officers appeared at the second trial of R.P.S, to ‘empty’ the fake witness that testified he ‘recognized’ G.Serifis in an action of R.P.S. In Perissos. They wanted to ‘empty’ him, because the scenario of the Anti-terrorist had placed G.Serifis in 17N and not R.P.S. and the fake witness spoiled their scenario. When they were asked in the trial generally about the case, they denied to answer, claiming the specific forbidding legislation (they had practised preliminary interrogation duties)! The same answer was given by judges and prosecutors to the defence advocates in both of these trials, who asked to summon officers of the Anti-terrorist to testify: we cannot summon them because they have practised preliminary duties and is forbidden by article 211 of the CPL. They raised a protective wall around the officers of the Anti-terrorist, because they considered they can fulfil these trials with other “proof” (in the 17N case with the “confessions” and those who cooperated, in the RPS case with the “Stazi archives” and three civilian fake witnesses.
In the current trial of R.S. they had no other way to “tie up” some of the defendants beyond the “material” of the Anti-terrorist. This is why they assigned to the responsible head of the department to create a scenario and present it. They consider that he can mange in the court room, contrary to those who carried out the surveillances. This is the substance. They want to do the trial using as a main witness the script writer of the Anti-terrorist, tearing up one of the fundamental provisions of the existing legislation system and inaugurating a new period, during which they will bring a Anti-terrorist officer as a specialist and the scenario which he will present will be taken as indisputable proof.
After the allocutions of the advocates, the trial was interrupted until next Monday (21st), in order for the allocution of S.Fitrakis absent because of illness. The other defence advocates had applied for a interruption from the beginning of the procedure.
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http://en.contrainfo.espiv.net/2012/01/10/athens-anarchists-detained-en-mass-after-solidarity-intervention-in-a-commercial-radio-station-for-the-revolutionary-struggle-case-trial/
In the morning of January 10th, nearly twenty members of the solidarity assembly for the case of Revolutionary Struggle (Epanastatikos Agonas, whose trial is currently underway) entered the corporate radio station flash.gr on Kifisias Avenue and interrupted the station’s program, to transmit a message of solidarity with those on trial.
Despite the fact that neither the station’s management, nor its staff asked officially any police intervention, scores of police (DIAS motorcycle units, squads such as MAT, plainclothes cops, among others) soon arrived on the spot and encircled the building. At about 14.00, after hours of being blocked inside the radio’s offices, anarchists who took part in the solidarity intervention were detained en mass and taken to the police headquarters on Alexandras Avenue: two prosecutors along with police squads stormed the radio station, forcing the comrades to exit the premises; all were handcuffed and held in police buses, while their mobile phones were confiscated.
As soon as the news was circulated, anarchists gathered opposite the police HQ (GADA), where a solidarity protest of approximately 100 people is underway (pre-gathering point: outside Ambelokipi metro station).
Update, Wednesday, January 11th, 11.26 GMT+2
Due to the refusal of the arrested comrades to give their fingerprints, they will be probably transferred earlier than expected at Evelpidon courts, Athens.
At 4:30 am on Thursday 15th of december we attacked Bristol LLoyds bank depot
in solidarity with comrades imprisoned in Greece, Chile, Switherland and all over
the world. We painted the message “UNTIL ALL ARE FREE” on the building and positioned
three bins of flamable material soaked in gazoline in front of their wooden doors
and set them alight. Unfortunately our attempt to burn the building down was scuppured
by fast emergency services response.
We took this action to send our love and Solidarity to our Revolutionary Struggle
comrades on trial in Greece and to the Chillean comrades persecuted for the “bomb case” ,
also to Silvia, Costa and Billy the Swiss comrades persecuted for “IBM nanotechnology building”
and for all those Imprisoned for their political beliefs.
ATTACKS WON’T STOP UNTIL WE ARE ALL FREE!
anarchists individuals/ cells of FAI
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Received from anonymous email
Translated from informa-azione by B.pd/actforfreedomnow
In the night between 19th and 20th November, with the help of a thick fog, we individuated and hit 12 vehicles, among which:
– 7 cars of ENI, a company that exports death and destruction.
– 3 SUV luxury cars.
– 1 car of CMC, a company also involved in the TAV.
– 1 limousine.
We punctured all tyres.
We want to dedicate this action to:
1) Tortuga.
2) All the Chilean comrades on trial for the Bombas case.
3) Gabriela, still on hiding.
4) Silvia, Costa, Billy.
5) Marco Camenish.
6) Eat & Billy.
7) Tamara.
All the arrested and not arrested comrades of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire.
9) All the arrested and not arrested comrades of Revolutionary Struggle.
10) All the comrades who struggle inside and outside prison.
11) All the peoples in struggle against the devastation of the earth (for example in Nigeria or in Val Susa).
12) All the comrades fallen while fighting in order to destroy the misery in which we live.
(A)
Other inmates of the 2nd wing of Corfu prisons who abstain from prison food are: Stamatis Achtsalotidis, Theofilos Lazarakis, Alexandér Bani, Christos Loupa, Michalis Devenes (along with Polykarpos Georgiadis who co-signs the above statement).
Hour by hour, there are more declarations of abstention from prison food in solidarity with Stella Antoniou. In particular, the anarchist prisoners of war Giannis Skouloudis, Sokratis Tzifkas, Dimitris Dimtsiadis and Babis Tsilianidis explain in their communiqué:
[…] On January 4th a hearing will be held regarding a new application for release submitted by the comrade Stella Antoniou, who is already one year under pre-trial detention in Koridallos women’s prisons. We want to make clear that we stand on the side of Stella and we claim her immediate release from prison, therefore we will abstain from prison meals from December 30th to January 4th. On the same day (4/1) the members of the R.O. Conspiracy of Cells of Fire Damiano Bolano, Gerasimos Tsakalos, Christos Tsakalos, Michalis Nikolopoulos, Giorgos Nikolopoulos, Giorgos Polidoros, Olga Ekonomidou, Haris Hadjimihelakis, Panagiotis Argirou, as well as the anarchists Giorgos Karagiannidis, Alexandros Mitroussias, Kostas Sakkas, Christos Politis and Dimitris Michail are called to appear before the Appellate Judges Council [of Athens] in order to be decided who and on what charges will be brought to trial in relation to the arrests of December 4th, 2010, and the incendiary parcels sent to European Union organizations and foreign embassies. […]