Month: May 2013

On Tuesday, April 30th, at around 4pm, anarchists Yannis Naxakis and Grigoris Sarafoudis were arrested on Dekeleias avenue in the district of Nea Filadelfeia, as they were coming out of a cafeteria.

At the same time, a large police force stormed the café and caught the anarchist fugitives Argyris Ntalios —who tried to break out of the kettle— and Fivos Harisis-Poulos. Both comrades had arrest warrants pending against them since mid-February 2013 (after the double robbery in Velventos–Kozani and the incarceration of anarchists Andreas-Dimitris Bourzoukos, Dimitris Politis, Nikos Romanos and Yannis Michailidis).

Anarchist Dimitris Hadjivasiliadis was also arrested inside the same cafeteria in Nea Filadelfeia.

All five were transferred to the anti-terrorism service on the 12th floor of the Athens police headquarters. The two comrades that were caught out on the street, as well as the two that were wanted by the authorities encountered the violence of statist dogs in the anti-terrorist office. The fifth comrade was forced to stand for twelve hours handcuffed tightly behind his back —what officially is considered torture— and when he was taken into a cell (the white cells of the 12th floor), he remained handcuffed for several hours.

The same evening, the Greek security force put out a report that accused all of them of resisting arrest and giving false testimony —because the five anarchists refused to give fingerprints, profiles or DNA samples, which were ultimately taken by force. In addition, Naxakis, Sarafoudis and Hadjivasiliadis were charged with harbouring fugitives.

On Wednesday noon, May 1st, the arrestees were all transferred to Evelpidon courts, where the media crows were lurking, and were met with the comrades’ hostility. The comrades stood before prosecutor and interrogator without any formal indictment and (for some) without being allowed to meet with a defense lawyer in advance that would also be present in the hearing, what perhaps occurred for the first time in the history of similar cases. The judges applied their usual tactic to postpone the preliminary hearing for two days regardless of the arrestees’ wishes. Ntalios, Harisis, Naxakis and Sarafoudis refused to make any statement. On the other hand, Hadjivasiliadis demanded that he be heard immediately with the presence of a defense lawyer. His demand was dismissed, so the comrade stated that he has denied food and water already from the moment of his arrest, and he goes on hunger/thirst strike for as long as he be locked up in the white cells of the antiterrorism torturers. Lastly, he held the judges responsible for his prolonged custody on the 12th floor of the Athens police headquarters, where the cops were attempting only to ‘manufacture’ an accusatory brief against the three anarchists for whom no warrants were outstanding in order to ask for their pretrial incarceration.

On Wednesday evening, preventive detention warrants were executed against the two ex-fugitives, and Fivos Harisis and Argyris Ntalios were transferred to Koridallos prison.

On Thursday, May 2nd, Ntalios, Harisis, Naxakis and Sarafoudis were charged in past robbery cases on the basis of ‘findings’ from DNA samples that were forcibly taken by them. Additionally, an appellate judge who handles such cases issued preventive detention warrants against Yannis Naxakis and Grigoris Sarafoudis. An indictment was presented to all five arrested in Nea Filadelfeia, including the accusation of ‘membership into a criminal organization with a view to committing robbery,’ in accordance with the Greek antiterrorist law, without exhibiting any direct evidence of premeditation or even intent, other than some orange juices served on the cafeteria table…

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the cops staged a psychological war on Hadjivasiliadis to make him stop the strike. They brought water bottles inside the cell, repeatedly ‘offered’ him food and water, and threatened him that he would stay there for many more days. Hadjivasiliadis and his lawyer insisted on his right to medical examination. A doctor came in at night, and assured that there was no immediate danger to him at this stage but his condition could deteriorate any moment. The doctor also told the human-guards to let the transom window of the cell’s door open, to help the striker breath more efficiently.

On Friday morning, May 3rd, the five anarchists were brought to Evelpidon courts once again, where only a few comrades and relatives were gathered in solidarity. Four of the accused insisted upon their refusal to make any statement. Then Ntalios and Harisis read a text in solidarity to striker Hadjivasiliadis, declaring that he is being held without any substantial evidence whatsoever against him. The judges had no basis to press criminal organization charges against the arrestees and set bail conditions instead for all five of them.

Nevertheless, Dimitris Hadjivasiliadis was the only one to be released, and thus stopped his three-day hunger and thirst strike.

In the meantime, Yannis Naxakis and Grigoris Sarafoudis were still held as suspects in bank robbery case, awaiting further proceeding in the city of Larissa. According to mainstream media, these two anarchists were brought before an interrogator on Saturday, May 4th. They are said to be remanded and moved to Koridallos prison.

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