Category: Texts

On Wednesday September 23 and at 8.15 as I was leaving my house in Galatsi on my way to the gym, I was arrested by 25 persons of the anti-terrorist squad.

In a matter of seconds I found myself on the sidewalk, hands cuffed behind my back, while at the same time they were informing their senior officers that “everything went well” and that they “have me”. I was taken to the 12^th floor of Police Headquarters (note: anti-terrorist division). The next day I am informed that at the same time with me another two friends of mine have also been arrested.

In the meantime the show has already started. Without any sleep for 48 hours and physically exhausted, with my face to the wall and then a long questionnaire following, while at the same time some police officer goes from office to office announcing in a delirium of pleasure that what is happening is called war.

After that comes the interest for my career, the friendly chat, the bravado and the humane approach to the misguided youth that followed the wrong path in his life while they self appointed themselves to straighten me out and to make me see reason, not for them as they said but for my own good, to help myself by speaking to them about situations and persons that I know nothing about. Later I was informed from an officer that I was the stupid asshole of the 12^th floor because the others as he said had “snitched on me” and “cleared themselves” and that if I didn’t speak I would go down for things other people have done, so I was yet again called upon to answer about situations unknown to me.

The guard shifts started: “good” cops with a sensitive touch and childhood traumas, as they said, that recognized injustice and wanted to help. On the other hand the “tough” commandos wearing full-face masks, “stern” appliers of the law and representatives of morality, acting in an absolute way leading to physical and mental exhaustion, as a means of revenge as they said because “I kept my mouth shut”.

That I refuse the charges against me does not mean that I would ever refuse my political “identity” and “origin”. I would never hide under the carpet of incarceration my dignity, overlooking the fact that I am a political entity which also takes its position against the values and institutions of this society by the means of critical revolutionary thought and practice. I am an anarchist and I am on the side of revolution and at the same time of myself.

The reason why at the present my two friends and I find ourselves in prison is crystal clear. Even the most naïve mind can perceive that fixed situations due to the elections play a role in the present condition, situations moving in the service of political and communication interests.

The hyperbole surrounding the situation, the armed to the teeth EKAM escorts (note: Special Forces Police) and the role of those despicable snitches the journalists in combination with the political condition of these days was enough to create a feeling of order and safety to the average Greek in face of the elections, so he can move sleepwalking in the role of the active citizen towards the voting poll in order to deposit yet again in someone else’s hands his share of responsibilities for his being. It is well known nowadays that public opinion has no opinion, so someone has to take on the role of shaping it. The tone of these days was mostly set by the lowlifes of the media and their all-devouring thirst for “maniacs in Galatsi” and “monsters in Chalandri”, for serial bombers who have ties with “renown” revolutionary organizations from which they take orders to accomplish missions. About guns and bullets found at my house up to money that was suddenly a product of robberies because it was well hidden-next time I’ ll leave it outside the front door.

Society is not divided into classes but only into choices and consciousnesses. So let as learn from pain and pleasure, from blood and the street. We were born to exist as a whole in our inapprehensible uniqueness, inapprehensible because we can stand the pain, unpredictable because we were taught on the streets, ruthless because we will move against everyone, because we will learn to meticulously tie steel on our skin and paint the cement with revolutionary blood.

We execute morality as a prologue for destruction, we whisper with rage biting the words: WAR-ATTACK because there is only beauty and strength, but some cowards in order to balance came up with justice.

Wherever there are barbed wires, let there be bloodied hands that rip them apart, wherever there is cement let there be cries full of rage that tears it down, wherever there are bars let there be souls like corrosives that destroy them, wherever we are buried alive let us bury with us morality.

We owe it to ourselves to bite on our shackles even if it is that we die biting. Because we are nothing more then our own choices.

For honour, dignity, revolution.

FREEDOM FOR THE COMRADES: V. PALLIS- Y. DIMITRAKIS- Y. VOUTSIS-VOGIATZIS- P. GEORGIADIS- I. NIKOLAOU

IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF MY FELLOW ACCUSED H. HATZIMICHELAKIS- M. YIOSPAS

Panayiotis Masouras

Avlona Prisons

21/10/2009

Sorry, this entry is only available in Ελληνικά.

On October 1^st, 2009, after a bank robbery in Trikala, anarchists Christos Stratigopoulos and Alfredo Bonanno are arrested in relation to the case. Christos Stratigopoulos from the very start takes on the sole responsibility for this expropriation. On November 22^nd, 2010 the two anarchists are tried for the case. Ch. Stratigopoulos is sentenced for armed robbery to 8 years and for 3 misdemeanors to 9 months, without parole. A. Bonanno is sentenced as an accomplice to 4 years of prison and is consequently set free, but is then deported based on a presidential decree as a persona non grata and is forbidden to re-enter the country for 10 years.

In July 2011, while still in prison, Christos receives a new case file in regards to a second bank robbery that took place on the island of Cephalonia in July 2009. The comrade was charged for this robbery based on fabricated evidence that “surfaced” one and a half years after the event. As a consequence of this frame-up Christos was unable to take prison leave, as he was entitled to according to the greek penal law since he had served more then 1/5 of his sentence.

Christos’ Appeal court for the Trikala case took place in February 2012 and his sentence was reduced to 5 years. Accordingly, the comrade should have been released in a few weeks but remains a hostage due to receiving a new detention order for the new pending case.

The court date for the bank robbery in Cephalonia had been set for July 26, 2012 in Patras, then on the 30th was postponed for the 5th of November, meanwhile the comrade was set free under restrictions awaiting for the trial.

-Letter from C. Stratigopoulos on the new frame-up against him by the authorities