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Catalan Solidarity Day Of Action
The Catalan flag (Estelada) was hoisted over Free Derry Corner in Derrys Bogside as a symbolic gesture of solidarity to the Catalan people.
Today (Sat. April 1st 2006) the Catalan Solidarity: Ireland Committee held protest at Free Derry Corner as widespread demonstrations were taken place across Catalonia against the signing of Estatut. An Agreement constructed by the Spanish Authorities which politically and economically copper fastening Catalonia with the Spanish State for another twenty-five years.
Several protesters wore white masks on which the Spanish Flag was placed over their mouths, symbolizing the continual denial of the rights such as self-determination and sovereignty of the Catalan people as a nation.
Afterwards protesters distributed information leaflets in Derry's city centre.
Free Derry! - Free Catalonia!
On April 1st throughout the Catalan countries, there will be widespread demonstrations by the Catalan people against the Spanish Administrations 'Estatut Autonomia of Catalonia'. Estatut is a policy designed by the Spanish State and supportive liberal Catalan politicians that will further tie both politically and economically the Catalan nation to Spain for at least another 25 years.
In a gesture of solidarity the Catalan Solidarity: Ireland Committee will hold a picket at Free Derry Corner to hightlight the continuing struggle against Estatut and for self-determination.
The event will be held at Free Derry Corner this Saturday, April 1st at 12 noon.
(Also information stall will be held following this event, at Magazine Gate in the city centre).
Everyone is welcome to obtain further information on this and other issues relating to the freedom and independence of Catalonia.
On the 14th ,15th ,and 16th of October , Barcelona will be hosting a series of workshops between different anti-prison groups and activists with the goal to share different experiences of our struggles and to articulate a series of practical proposals that will permit us to join forces and eliminate possible deficiencies .We would like that the workshops serve as a starting point, so that those interested in the struggles against the prison society can create contacts to work on these themes in various ways that we will decide on together .With the goal to make the workshops go more fluidly and with the idea that from the workshops we produce some applicable proposals, we recommend that the different subjects are discussed before hand by those who plan on attending the debates.
These workshops will be public and we hope that activists and groups from different ideologies and currents will come to participate with the condition that the antiauthoritarian methodology and collective decision making will be respected.
Our idea is that the workshops will be structured in two blocks. The first one being the discussion of some basic common ground to carry out a coordination between us. To get the debate moving around more practical aspects we suggest that this first block is discussed though the internet before hand. With this end there is a email (presxsalacalle@riseup.net) where each activist or group can forward their proposals that will be posted on a web page.
The second block will be focused on more concrete aspects of the struggle against prison and repression. Our suggestion for working on this is the following:
INFORMATION
here well try to find the mechanisms so that information moves more fluidly both inside and outside of prisons. Some of the aspects surrounding what we would like to discuss are:
Translations
Evaluation from prisoners and support groups.
Information about protests etc..
Contact points: meeting spaces, telephone numbers, emails, p.o. boxs.
Possibilities to give talks.
CAMPAIGNS
The objective of this topic is to make our responses to repression more effective through different campaigns that may be collectively organized. If you are interested in giving a presentation of a campaign it would be better to let us know as soon as possible so we can organize our time effectively. We would also like to exchange information about print shops and prices.
PREPARATION
Here we would like to create a space to exchange experiences of repression both on the individual and collective level. Some of the issues we would like to discuss are the following:
Isolation
Hunger strikes
Experiences of support groups
Given that some of the questions to be discussed in this section could be difficult to discuss in person we would ask that people bring a written copy of their experience so that each participant can take away copy for further reflection.
DIRECT SOLIDARITY
In this last topic we will discuss the aspects related to meeting of our immediate needs such as legal and economic recourses. We would like to coordinate the following:
Places to stay while visiting prisoners
Organizing trips to visit prisoners with more people to lower costs
Food and personal packages
Lists of friendly lawyers
We believe that the three days that we have for the workshops should be enough to cover all these topics, as they are of a practical nature. Our proposal for the workshops is only a suggestion based on some of our concrete needs here in Barcelona. So, if any other group or activist has something to add or discuss they can write to the following email address: presxsalacalle@riseup.net
We would also like that people write to confirm that they will be attending, so we can organize ourselves better for meals and lodging.
BASQUE PRISONERS PROTEST FOR POLITICAL STATUS
On 16 March, 720 Basque political prisoners began a hunger strike in an effort to win political status. The hunger strike was launched by the Basque Political Prisoners' Group (EPPK), and followed a series of protests since the turn of the year. In January prisoners associated with the EPPK began holding a series of sit-in protests. Following the
increasingly repressive response by the prison authorities to these protests the Basque political prisoners initiated their hunger strike to highlight their conditions.
The hunger strike ended after 12 days on 27 March with the prisoners stating that their struggle had moved into a new phase. The hunger strike itself endured severe media censorship here in Britain and internationally with few news agencies covering any information on the prisoners' struggle.
Iñigo Makazaga was among those prisoners who took part in the hunger strike;
Iñigo Makazaga is a 27 years old basque imprisoned at Belmarsh (London). under special security regime due to the serious charges that are being made against him by the Spanish government for almost 3 years. After more than 4 years he is still waiting to face a demand for extradition that is being carried by the Spanish government.
Iñigo has been in isolation regime at Belmarsh High Security Unit for 3 of the 4 years he is in this prison. During these years he has spent around 23h a day in his cell. Last september a Judge reduced his charges taking into account the weakness of the Spanish government's evidences and he was moved on January 2005 from Category A to Category B but he is still waiting the decission about his extradition from the Home Officer who is delaying it, in the meantime
Iñigo is still in Belmarsh. This situation is a continuation of an unjustified sentence.Iñigo is just one of thousands of
basques, who due to their political actions, have had to seek refuge in different parts of the world, as a consequence
of the repression and conflict situation in the Basque Country.
Iñigo was an active militant in the basque student movement as well as a member of an Herri Batasuna's comitee (Basque left-wing party which was banned by the spanish state in 2002) He suffered mistreatment at the hands of the Spanish police when arrested as he quotes: "they threatened to split my head open if I didn't state what they wanted me to, all the while they punched me in the shoulders, in the chest, the ears and pulled my hair and threw me against the wall and to the floor"
This campaign of state repression involves the dispersal of prisoners across Spain and France far away from their home and relatives. At present there are 720 Basque political prisoners - this is the largest number of political prisoners since the Franco dictatorship - spread over seven states and 82 prisons. This repression is aimed at crushing the resistance of those who fight for Basque self-determination.
Write to Iñigo Makazaga, FF7630, HMP Belmarsh, Western Way, Thamesmead London SE28 0EB.
Protest at Iñigo's continued detention and mistreatment to Home Secretary Charles Clarke, Home Secretary, Peel Building, Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF
Catalan Solidarity Gig Weekend a Huge Success!
Over the weekend of the 11th, 12th and 13th March Catalan Solidarity held a number of gig events throughout England to raise both awareness of the situation for Catalan political prisoners and to raise cash to send directly to the prisoners and to groups in Catalonia who are practically supporting them. Gigs and info stalls were held at the squatted Poison Depot in London, the Fenton in Leeds and the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, and a total of £250 was made to send over to Catalonia. A huge thanks to Bottlejob, Oi Polloi, Retain the Right, The Plight, Homebrew, the Infested and Inadaptats for playing, as well as all the people who helped out with the stalls and the door, the venues, people who lent us equipment and all the people who came down and supported. More events are planned later this year. Watch this space!
Anarchists arrested in Aachen, Germany
The trial against the Aachen 4 started on the 23rd of March and it`s supposed to last for a month. Updates and other background information can be find at www.escapeintorebellion.info
 On June, 28th 2004, four people were arrested in Aachen, Germany, after a shooting with the police and hostage-taking, while attempting to escape a police control. These four persons are Bart De Geeter, José Fernandez Delgado, Gabriel Pombo da Silva and Begoña Pombo da Silva.
Bart De Geeter is a Belgian anarchist, 26 years old, active within the movement for several years, particularly within the solidarity work with prisoners (as a member of the Anarchist Black Cross - Gent, Belgium) and people without papers.
Gabriel Pombo da Silva is a well-known Spanish anarchist, 36 years old, who spent 20 years in prison of which 14 in the infamous FIES isolation regime. In October last year he escaped from prison and ran away from Spain. Gabriel is one of the social rebels/anarchists who struggled for years against the brutal conditions, the isolation, torture and mistreatment within the Spanish prisons.
The 44 year old José Fernandez Delgado is another Spanish anarchist who escaped from prison recently after spending 24 years in prison.
Begoña is 34 years old and is Gabrielâs sister. She lives in Germany and has a 7 year old daughter. Except for being the sister of Gabriel, she has no relation to the anarchist movement.
The four were stopped by the German police just beyond the German border, at a petrol station on the way to Aachen. The reason for the police intervention seems to have been a drug control. When the police wanted to search the car, one of the 4 pulled a gun and shot in the air. In the next moments, the three men took a couple as hostages and fled with a car; the woman though was jumped upon and arrested by the police. The three men were chased by the police, a shooting took place way and back, and when their car broke down they let the hostages go and fled with another car. Finally the three hid in a garage, where they were surrounded by the police, and after some time the three gave in.
The three men have been charged by the public prosecutor of Aachen with attempt of murder (9 times), hostage taking (twice), armed robbery, planning of a robbery and serious traffic violations. Given the course of the events, it is likely that Begoña is held with less serious charges.
At this moment, an international investigation is going on against the international radical left movement, that is: Spanish, Belgian and German anarchists are under investigation and are considered as an âinternational networkâ. As far as we know, no investigation has been opened on the basis of article 129a/B of the German Criminal Code (terrorism).There is also no extradition demand from Spain or Belgium, since the events took place in Germany. Whether more charges will follow, eventually by other EU countries, remains to be seen.
The fact that an international investigation of the international radical left movement is going on became very clear when on August 4, 2004, in Dresden, Germany, the police raided the house of two female comrades. Both are long time activists within the prisonersâ solidarity movement and the organisation Rote Hilfe (Red Help) in Germany. They were asked by the Anarchist Black Cross - Gent, Belgium, to provide lawyers for the detained, and since then they follow up the case together with the ABC-Gent. The two women are now suspected to have planned a robbery together with the four arrested!! According to the police, in the car of the arrested a city map of Dresden was found on which weapon shops and police stations are marked. Also an eventual escape route to the Czech Republic was on this map. This city map, together with the fact that both activists provided a lawyer for Bart and asked for a visit permit, seemed to have been sufficient reason for the police to raid the house of the two women. During the house search, by the Landeskriminalamt Sachsen and the Aachen police, mobiles, computers, writings, letters of prisoners, etc. were confiscated. The two women were not arrested. One of the women made a complaint about the house search, but it was refused as ungrounded by the regional court of Aachen. She appealed this decision.
In the media, the case was initially covered as a spectacular event, good to fill the front pages and to fulfill the need for sensation, and to spread a bit more the fear for all those âdangerous criminalsâ. When it became known that there is a political background, the first stories about possible connections with ETA, etc. showed up - as usual when it is about Spain/Spaniards. From journalists who donât know more than what governments, police and justice tell them, you canât expect moreâ¦
We though know that itâs our comrades that have been captured and that they wage a struggle, as we do, against repression and prison, against poverty and exploitation, against exclusion and alienation. We have no doubt that they will continue the struggle inside prison, and we will be on their side outside. We are all prisoners because we neither want nor accept nor are resigned to this miserable world full of injustices, lies and suffering.
We call for international solidarity with our comrades, captured because they struggle to break down all walls and frontiers and for freedom for all.
LAURA MOVED TO MURCIA`S PRISON
Laura Riera, political prisoner from Catalonia, was moved from Badajoz prison to Alacant prison on the 19th February to be in the same prison as her husband Diego (also a Catalan political prisoner). This transfer was carried out to satisfy the Spanish prison system regulation that married couples should be kept at the same penal establishment.
Upon arrival in Alacant, Laura was put into a cell with another prisoner and when she requested to be alone in a single cell, she was punished and put into isolation. Her protest continued however, and on the 23rd February the prison director held a meeting with her and threatened her with stronger action if she didn`t stop complaining about her treatment. A few hours later (and just a few minutes before she was due to see her partner Diego) she was moved to Murcia prison, taking her away again from her partner and even further away from her home.
STOP DISPERSION, STOP REPRESSION!!!
STRONG REPRESSIVE MEASURES AGAINST ZIGOR IN CAN BRIANS PRISON
On Thursday 24th February around 1.45p.m. Zigor arrived at the Catalan prison â Can Briansâ. He had left Albacete prison on the previous Monday and had spent two nights at Villena prison (Alacant) and then one night at Picassent prison (Valencia) before being taken to Can Brians on the 24th. When he arrived at Can Brians he was submitted to the usual whole body strip-search and only given a bedsheet as clothing afterwards. His right to make a phone call from the prison was initially withheld and he was only able to do so at around 7p.m. that evening, after several phone calls from his relatives to the prison checking on his situation. All his belongings were kept from him until the Saturday and no blanket or towels were provided for him nor was he initially given a card that allows him to buy goods in prison. He wasnât even allowed to have a shower and during his first night he slept with no covers and only with the clothes he was wearing during the journey to the prison.
During his time in Barcelona, Zigor was kept in an isolation unit, denied contact with other prisoners and given only minimal exercise in a small outdoor courtyard. Itâs reported that during the day he was periodically disturbed by the screws who kept switching the lights on and off in his cell therefore disorientating him and not letting him to read, and he was denied writing materials to request items on paper that he needed.
On Saturday the 26th Zigorâs partner was denied a visit to him even though she had an official pass from a Madrid court that authorises her to visit him at any prison. The screws gave her various excuses saying that it wasnât official or that the permit was out of date. When Zigorâs lawyers went to prison to complain about this situation they were told that another official document was sent out to the prison a week before from Madrid not allowing her to communicate with him for security reasons. This document however, remains to be seen by his legal team.
The initial transfer of Zigor from Albacete prison to Can Brians was because he had a court case pending from before he was arrested in January 2001. He was moved there less than a week before the trial, but Spanish laws say that prisoners have to be moved to the nearest prison at least a month before the trial is due to start.
Now Zigor is back in Albacete and the only good news about all this repressive episode is that his charges on that case were finally acquitted.
Squatter from Barcelona dies after Nazi attack
 Roger A.G. a youth from Barcelona who was involved in the squatter movement, died tragically on Friday 10th December after being in a coma for nearly 4 months as a result of an attack by a nazi skinhead that stabbed him in the neck.
A good person and freedom fighter is now dead whilst such nazi scum still roam the streets, in this case the Nazi paid a fine of 3000 euros to the state to secure his freedom. Demonstrations of support and respect for Roger are going to be held in various big cities around the Spanish state on the 23rd December.
Anti-fascism. Now more than ever.
Laura and Zigor have been acquitted of charges of conspiracy to commit murder
Laura and Zigor, Catalan political prisoners, who are both already sentenced to 7 and 9 years imprisonment respectively, were once again back in court on the 20th and 21st of October for a new accusation of conspiracy with ETA to commit murder in December 2000. The prosecution originally were asking for a further 30 year sentence if convicted, which was later reduced to 19 years. A short time after the trial had finished the judge decided to drop the charges against them, saying that ETA would have been able to commit the murder regardless of whether Laura and Zigor were co-conspirators. Although they have been acquitted of these charges, they will still have to finish their other sentences.
Both days during the trial which was held in Madrid, demonstrations of support were held in Barcelona city centre. Attended by around 70 people, the marchers managed to halt the traffic of one of the major city centre streets in the Catalan capital. The demonstration ended up in front of Barcelona`s town hall where a summary of the trial was read.
STRASBOURG HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL SENTENCES THE SPANISH STATE
In summer 1992 a Spanish judge by the name of Baltasar Garzon (well known for his repression of social movements and his lack of willingness to investigate allegations of torture) decided to launch a war against the Catalan independentist movement just before the start of the Barcelona Olympic Games. A swoop of state activity resulted in the arrest of more than 40 people and the majority of these men and women were arrested under anti-terrorist law and taken to Madrid. Of the 40, 15 of these people made statements against the police accusing them of torture during incommunicado periods in police stations, mainly in Madrid.
After three failed attempts to bring the police to different Spanish justice courts, the arrestees decided to bring the case to the Strasbourg Human Rights tribunal and the trial took place on the 18th of November 2003. The European tribunal accused the Spanish state of not investigating appropriately and efficiently the allegations of torture presented by the 15 complainants. Despite this, the tribunal didnât ratify the accusations of torture because they happened so long ago and there`s not enough evidence to make firm convictions.
In conclusion, the Strasbourg court fines the Spanish state 8000 Euros to be paid to each of the individuals for morale damages and a general fine of 12000 Euros in total to compensate for the expenses of the trial. All the fines must be paid within a month by the Spanish government.
It took more than 11 years from when the torture happened to see some sort of justice being done but at the end some justice did go to the 15 people that made the accusations. In a collective statement they say that âthis is a very important moral victory for themâ and they expressed happiness that the Strasbourg tribunal highlighted the inaction of the Spanish state to investigate torture accusations.
The Spanish Government honors the Nazis
The past 12th October, during the celebration of the Spanish National Day, the Spanish state held a military parade in its capital Madrid. In this military parade also took part an old member of the âDivision Azulâ (Blue Division).
The âDivision Azulâ was an army of Spanish volunteers formed with the help of the fascist dictatorship of Franco, and this âDivision Azulâ went to fight next to the German Nazis during the Second World War from 1941 to 1945. They also made an oath of loyalty to Hitler.
The âDivision Azulâ was also known as the 250 Wehrmacht Infantry Division and was part of the nacionalsocialist forces put on trial by the International Tribunal of Nuremberg, and found guilty of committing crimes against peace and mankind.
The present Spanish government allowed to a soldier of the âDivision Azulâ to parade during the Spanish National Dayâ¦this is nothing else than the continuation of the same fascist government formed by the dictator General Franco (1939-1975), whom not only collaborated with the Nazis, but also persecuted the Catalan nation, its language and its culture killing thousands of Catalan people throughout the process.
15th October takes place the commemoration of the murder of the Catalan President LluÃs Companys, executed in October 1940 by the Spanish occupation forces after being handed over by the Nazis.
The present Spanish government has refused to apologize to the Catalan people and the family of the Catalan president executed by them, but the Spanish government makes homage to a soldier of the Nazis.
This gives away the real nature of the present Spanish state..
UNMASK THE SPANISH STATE! FREEDOM FOR CATALONIA!
ISOLATION = TORTURE
Laura Riera, a Catalan political prisoner, has been in solitary confinement for more than 6 months for no specific reason.
 Laura Riera, a woman from Terrassa ( a city near to Barcelona ) was arrested at home in the early hours of 24th August 2001 by the Spanish Civil Guard, for allegedly collaborating with the Basque separatist organisation ETA. She was initially transferred to Madrid where she it is said that she spent 4 days incommunicado, during which time she experienced physical and psychological torture culminating in her signing a statement admitting guilt of all the crimes she had been accused of. Her actual trial didnât occur until 2 years later in October 2003, and the court eventually passed sentence 8 months after the trial had finished. Laura was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
Laura has now been in an isolation cell since 12th March 2004 at first in Badajoz prison and now in Soto del Real prison (Madrid). A dispersion tactic is used by the Spanish government against political prisoners by sending them far away from their home towns and families making their stay in prison even more difficult for both themselves and their loved ones. Laura`s family had been spending 1000 Euros every weekend when they were visiting her in Badajoz prison as it is more than 1100 km away from their home town of Terrassa. Due to being so far away, Lauraâs family have had to take time off work making their economic situation even worst. Now Laura is in Soto del Real prison in Madrid that is still almost 700 km away from their home. And if that wasnât enough, Laura has now been in isolation for more than 6 months. Her isolation started, coincidently, the day after the terrorist attacks in Madrid, the same attacks that the Spanish Home Minister kept accusing Basque separatist group ETA as being responsible for, even after the organisation repeatedly denied their involvement.
Laura is living in a very hard prison regime. It is believed that she is spending 20 hours a day alone in her cell, she has all meals on her own and she is only able to go out to a small open space with just one other prisoner. She is denied TV or any similar activity and she is only able to have a few books and some clothes in her cell.
It is for all these reasons that Catalan Solidarity, in England, and Rescat, in Catalonia, had started a campaign to highlight her situation.
 Over the past few months, Catalonia, and Barcelona in particular, has suffered various fascist attacks perpetrated by organized far-right groups. The most severe attack, for its consequences, occurred on the 15th August in the Grà cia district of Barcelona, an area well known for its anti-fascist organisations and other resistance movements.
Roger A.G., a 25 year old man and member of the squatter movement in Barcelona was stabbed in the neck by a nazi-skinhead around 2 a.m. A group of 6 fascists wearing various nazi-related symbolism on their clothes, were harassing people passing the front entrance of a tube station in Grà cia. Roger and a few of his friends were confronted by the group of fascists who then followed them and launched an unprovoked attack on the group. The attack left Roger lying on the floor unconscious with huge loss of blood from a stabbing injury to his neck. The offenders, aged between 19 to 26 years old, were arrested by police when they were trying to leave the area, and include Aitor A.C. the person who stabbed Roger with a knuckle-duster type weapon. This weapon used in the attack and found by the police at the scene later âdisappearedâ in the police station.
Roger, as a consequence of the assault is still unconscious, completely paralysed and unable to react to any kind of stimulus. Five of the arrested people were freed next day with criminal injury charges. The perpetrator of Rogerâs attack was first put on remand on attempted murder charges, but unexpectedly the charges were changed to criminal injury and he was freed after a bail payment of 3000 euros (£2000). The reasons given by the judge for doing so are that the offender admitted the crime and because the police and courts could verify his address and therefore he is not expected to be able to abscond.
Fight back against fascism and corrupt justice.
Internacional Anti-fascism! | 
The recent trial against 10 Catalan people for allegedly collaborating with, or being members of, the Basque organization ETA, took place over three days (6th, 7th, 8th October 2003) at the Spanish âAudiència Nacional â (high court) in Madrid. During the trial various mobilizations and demonstrations were organized in different parts of Catalonia and more than a hundred people went to Madrid to give support to the prisoners in front of the Court. Despite the fact that the defendants had made a statement to the court saying that their previous statements to the police had been obtained under torture (implying their validity could not be guaranteed), the judges condemned Zigor Larredonda and Diego Sánchez to 9 years imprisonment for membership of ETA, Laura Riera to 7 years for collaboration with the organization and Purificació, Francesc and Josep to 5 years
The last governmental penal reform by the political party âPartido Popularâ (PP) with Socialist Party (PSOE) support, included an obligation for prisoners who wish to study, to study at the UNED (Spanish long-distance learning university). The consequences of this for Catalan prisoners are that they are not able to study in their native language nor, like other prisoners, to choose a university freely. This new measure directly affected prisoner Diego Sánchez, former Law student at Barcelona University, Eduard Alonso, former History student at Bellaterra university and Zigor Larredonda, former Audio-visual student at Bellaterra university.
Juanra was arrested in Holland in 2001 sometime after the arrests of some ETA members in Barcelona. Initially, he ran away to Holland to avoid being arrested by Spanish police forces due to his fear of being tortured during the incommunicado period, which has been established through anti-terrorist legislation in Spain.
Laura Riera, Catalan political prisoner, has now been in an isolation cell since 12th March 2004 initially in Badajoz prison and now in Soto del Real prison. This dispersion tactic used by the Spanish government against political prisoners by sending them well away from their home towns and families makes their stay in prisons even more difficult for both themselves and their families. And if that wasnât enough, Laura has now been in isolation for more than 6 months. Her isolation started, coincidently, the day after the terrorist attacks in Madrid, the same attacks that the Spanish Home Minister kept accusing Basque separatist group ETA as being responsible for, even after ETA repeatedly denied their involvement.
Rescat, taking advantage of the Catalan national day which is historically celebrated on the 11th September of each year, made a massive demonstration around the streets of Barcelona on the 11th September 2004. The demonstration, attended by 1000 people, aimed to support Catalan political prisoners on such an important day for all the resistance movements in Catalonia, and to denounce the severe cuts in some of the prisonersâ basic rights and many of the restrictions that they suffer in prison.
