Tag Archives: hunger strike

OUR STATEMENT TO THE CASE OF PETR MIKOLAS

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At the end of October we published information about a prisoner Petr Mikolas, who was starting a protest hunger strike in solidarity with the striking prisoners in the US. Petr spent some time in the same cell with our imprisoned comrade Lukas Borl and they got along well together. Despite having little time or information, we decided to support Petr in his fight because we saw them as a struggling prisoner against one of the most clear institutions of oppression and we had a letter of support from Lukas. However, new information has come to light and we have decided to not support Petr Mikolas as an individual anymore. This statement aims to explain our decision. Continue reading →

A PRISONER PETR MIKOLÁŠ DECLARES HUNGER STRIKE IN SOLIDARITY WITH US PRISONERS AND LUKÁŠ BORL

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Petr Mikoláš is so called social prisoner who had shared a cell with Lukáš Borl before the director of Litoměřice prison separated them into different cells. Petr and Lukáš became to be friends and Petr started to see similarities in between his and other stories of imprisoned ones pretty quickly. Petr Mikoláš after separation from Lukáš decided to go on hunger strike. One of his reasons to start a hunger strike is to be in solidarity with striking prisoners in the US. We support Petr’s struggle as we would support any imprisoned being fighting against their oppressor. Continue reading →

[Greece] ABC Solidarity Cell: Strength to the anarchist hunger striker Martin Ignačák

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Another solidarity action, this time from Athens and Lesvos. Thank you for anarchist greetings and international solidarity! Nice report and amazing pictures from contrainfo.espiv.net:

Action at the embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens; the banner reads: “Solidarity with the anarchist hunger striker Martin Ignačák – ABC Solidarity Cell”

Embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens spray-painted: “Freedom to Martin Ignačák – Anarchist Black Cross”

Czech embassy’s entrance spray-painted; flyers thrown in support of incarcerated anarchist Martin Ignačák

In April 2015, the Czech State launched a repressive campaign under the name “Operation Fénix” targeting the anarchist movement that’s active on its territory. Continue reading →

MARTIN PŘERUŠIL HLADOVKU // MARTIN STOPPED HUNGER STRIKE

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Martin pozastavil, nebo prozatím ukončil hladovku. Jeho vlastní vyjádření zveřejníme v nejbližších dnech, pokud stále neleží na stole vězeňské kontroly.

Martin has started to eat. We will publish his own formulation as soon as possible. Hopefully the letter from him hasn’t been held on the desk of prison control.

Another response on the call for International Solidarity

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By the infoshop “Bokcafét” in Stockholm, in so called Sweden there was an echo of what is going on in Czech Republic…  We saw Lukas Borl, who is currently hiding in the “poetry” section of the book shop. Still riding on the strong stallion of solidarity… We offered him a vegan burger, which I am sure he appreciated. By the way, if you see him, make sure you help him in any way you can. He has been strongly discredited by our enemies in blue, capitalists and/or nazis. The rumors about him are false and we should offer our respect, friendship and solidarity.

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Well well, after the little lunch with Lukas, we head off to the Czech embassy for a little protest. We were thinking that some banners and a little group of people wouldn’t be so provocative, not even shouting, but we where wrong.

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Already after about 60 seconds, the officials getting payed for hanging out in the fancy building came out to complain on the mess we were causing. The Czech embassy in Stockholm is situated on a very low-traffic, almost hidden street. Though there were almost no spectators around, the employees seemed very troubled to have a demo outside of their embassy. After a few minutes of arguing, the embassy people started to rip the banners off the fence and almost from our hands. Well, then this amazing person showed up and told them off, that “we do have a right to demonstrate here!”. No one could fight against her and her home-made banner! So the officials let us alone for a while.

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By the way, we would also like to send out greetings to Igor. We made a little art installation on the grass in front of the building. This wasn’t welcomed at all. The employees looked out of the window and went outside with angry steps and took it off right away. Will they use it for evidence against us for “trying to attack the building”? We don’t know…

The picture of a person standing on the flags is a hint to one of the things brought up in the court against Igor. He had taken a funny picture of when he is stepping on the American flag, which was actually a doormat anyway! Do we deserve getting deported for this now?

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Lastly, we want to send our greetings to Martin Ignačák, who has been in custody jail for almost 14 months by now. He is on a hunger strike. Even if he cant hear our shouts to him from here, we hope we can send some energy and strength.

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KAMPEN FORTSÄTTER!

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY ACTION

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As “Czech” Anarchist Black Cross and the AntiFenix Collective, we call for international solidarity actions against the repression of anarchists in the so-called Czech Republic.  This repressive wave is labeled Operation Fenix – 8 people are accused or charged, some with possible life sentences, and with many more harassed by police, interrogated, raided, devices confiscated.

Our call for international solidarity is to support all of charged and affected, but also in particular to support Martin, an anarchist who was entrapped and accused of preparation of a terrorist attack, all planned by two state infiltrators.  He has been locked away already almost 14 months in terrible conditions, and in response, he has just gone on hunger strike.  Especially in places where you have Czech embassies or consulates, you can show that borders can’t stop anarchist solidarity.

Although Martin’s English isn’t very good, he will be very happy to receive any mail, here is his address:

Martin Ignačák 10.8.1986
V.V. Praha – Pankrác
P.O.BOX – 5
Praha 4
140 57

Communiqué from Martin Ignačák: start of hunger strike 9.6.2016

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We have already informed about the fact that Martin, unlike us, has not been aware of the decision of the court. He hasn’t recieved the official decision to this day (June 9th, now he has gotten it) but has been informed about the court decision by his family and his lawyer who visited him yesterday. The court had decided that Martin is to remain in custody. Therefore today Martin officialy begins the hunger strike. Here is Martin’s statement.

START OF HUNGER STRIKE

The hunger strike is my free reaction to the circumstances that concern the approach of the police in the Fénix case.

The situation is unbearable for me due to the slander through which R. Šlachta has demagogically been ling to the Higher court. I consider it unlawful that my family is being monitored, their private lives are being interfered with, their opinion and feelings of the Fénix case are being judged. This indirectly shows that any criticism is an impulse for the monitoring of the dissenting persons and the recording of details of their private lives.

I also consider it unlawful that the privacy of my friends and their families is being violated by the police who call their employers and landlords and try to intimidate them through this tactic.

Furthermore the remand prison Praha – Pankrác is knowingly violating moral and human rights as far as nutrition is concerned, as so far they have provided me with food that is completely non-nutritive, I am not provided with vegan food. I am fully provided with food by people on the outside but is very difficult for my family and friends.

Another thing is that my detention in remand has the form of pressure detention – not just in the form of being denied vegan food but also the constant ‘security’ measures due to which visits from my counsel for defence take place through bars or plexiglass, even when I am looking through file documents. Even though a month before that the review of file documents took place without such measures.

With this protest I want to express my dissatisfaction and show that the police dishonourably goes into extremes and knowingly acts unlawfuly. They give false, targeted and untrue information to keep me in custody, on the basis of mere assumptions and fabrications, this is done by police agents and investigators.

I want to emphasize that the hunger strike is not an outcome of the trial. I want to and I will defend myself in the trial and I will participate in it, as I have already stated at the City court in Prague.

I will not end the hunger strike as long as this unbearable state persists and until the immediate remedy in these respects:

  • Immediate withdrawal of the false record on my sister given by R. Šlachta.
  • Immediate suspension of all unlawful and illegal monitoring, bullying and intimidation of my family, my friends and their families.
  • Immediate improvement of food in the remand prison in Praha – Pankrác.
  • Repeated and independent review of my release from custody with acceptance of promises and proposals from my side and the replacement of custody by other measures.

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY ACTION

As “Czech” Anarchist Black Cross and the AntiFenix Collective, we call for international solidarity actions against the repression of anarchists in the so-called Czech Republic.  This repressive wave is labeled Operation Fenix – 8 people are accused or charged, some with possible life sentences, and with many more harassed by police, interrogated, raided, devices confiscated.

Our call for international solidarity is to support all of charged and affected, but also in particular to support Martin, an anarchist who was entrapped and accused of preparation of a terrorist attack, all planned by two state infiltrators.  He has been locked away already almost 14 months in terrible conditions, and in response, he has just gone on hunger strike.  Especially in places where you have Czech embassies or consulates, you can show that borders can’t stop anarchist solidarity.

IMPRISONED ANARCHIST MARTIN IGNAČÁK HAS GONE ON HUNGER STRIKE

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On Friday 27.5. 2016 in Pankrác remand prison anarchist Martin Ignačák accused of terrorism went on hunger strike. He did this because on 29.4. 2016 the City court in Prague ruled in favour of his release from remand and the state’s attorney appealed this decision to the High court in Prague. On friday 27.5. 2016 the High court in Prague extended the remand. Therefore the anarchist has decided to protest by going on hunger strike and has stopped taking in nutrition and liquids. This type of hunger strike threatens the life of the hunger striker after a week.

During the year long investigation of the preparation of a supposed terrorist attack the imprisoned anarchist has exhausted all legal options, to achieve objective procedure of the respective organs active in the criminal proceedings. None of them were taken into account. This is why he now chose this radical form of expression, to draw attention to this manipulated police case. ” I consider the approach of the investigators and the police to be very problematic, it is a threat to the freedom of every human being, a threat to freedom of speech, a threat to activism that tries to lead to a better world , and this doesn’t just involve anarchists.”

Martin is being prosecuted in the so called Fénix case from April 2015, in which altogether 5 people were accused of the preparation and the failure to notify of a terrorist attack on a train. Martin is the only one who has been in remand prison this whole time and his detention has now been extended after the intervention of the state’s attorney. As a reason for the extension of remand the state’s attorney used the testimony of a police agent who infiltrated the anarchist movement in 2014. From his testimony the state’s attorney drew the conclusion that Martin might attempt to escape to Spain. Another reason, according to him, was that Martin ” is connected to the so called Síť revolučních buněk/ The Network of Revolutionary Cells (SRB) and therefore also to similar organizations abroad.” The police spoke about SRB when they began Fénix and provided information to the media. ” Any connections between the 5 attacks ascribed to SRB and all the detained and accused have been refuted. The investigators themselves have ruled it out” says Martin.

At the moment Martin is the second longest detained prisoner in the Pankrác remand prison. For 13 months he lives there under conditions, that negatively affect his psychological and physical state. For example he has been refused food free of animal products, which means he practically doesn’t have access to hot food. Friends, who have come to visit him have been mentioned by name in the indictment. Police from the Department for combating organized crime have started to collect information on Martin’s sister, only because she tries to support her brother in whichever way she can.

For Martin parole would mean that after 13 long months he would again see his friends, family, nature, that he wouldn’t be exposed to emotional deprivation and physical hardship.

Update Sunday, May 29th: Martin’s sister Pavla B. joined her brother in the protest and this morning she has started hunger strike herself as well.

For more information follow antifenix.noblogs.org