FROM STAMHEIM TO LARISA

Domination is launching the war against "terrorism" and projecting the doctrine of security, after September 11, in order to impose globally totalitarian conditions. Both the tension of repression and control, aiming at weakening any resistance inside the western world, and the savage exploitation of millions of proletarians in the prisons of wage-slavery are forming the suffocating living environment within the capitalist metropolis.

June 29 2002 and the explosion in Piraeus1 was the opportunity for the greek state to proceed to a gigantic repressive attack, within the framework of global "anti"terrorism. This operation to enforce state projects prepared from before was widely based on the ideological pressure by the mass media, on the fear and confusion they spread to society and finally on the propaganda concerning the olympic games’ safety. The arrest and torture of persons who were accused as members of "17 November" and the arrests for "ELA" (Revolutionary Popular Struggle) afterwards, as well as the legal establishment of court-martials2 and special prison status were brought into effect exactly within these circumstances.

Today, political prisoners for the cases of N17 and ELA are in Koridallos penitentiary, in the "white cells" which were built overnight. These cells are on the basement of the prison facilities, outside the windows there is a double row of metal bars, a wire fence and a wall. Visitors get thoroughly searched and communication is allowed only behind a glass plate while the prisoner is practically inside a cage, overseen by prison-guards and monitored by cameras. The yard is surrounded by high walls and barbed wire. And now, a new wing with "white cells" is under construction in the prison of Larisa, while in many places of Greece new penitentiaries are being built and in Aspropirgos the old US military base is reconstructed to serve as an "olympic prison".

The special prison status was first implemented in Germany for the militants of RAF and 2nd of June movement, after a research realized in 1971 under the name "Report on the consequences of total isolation and solitary confinement". The conclusions of this research were used in the construction and function of maximum security prisons in many countries.

The imprisonment of fighters in the "white cells" of democracy does not simply aim at punishing those who have already challenged the state monopoly of violence. It is also an exemplary measure, to serve as a deterrent and to terrorize those who continue the struggle against the state and the capital with any means.

Considering the historical examples of Germany (where people from the movement of solidarity to political prisoners were persecuted and served long-time sentences in the "white cells" themselves) and the one of Turkey (where, until 2001, only 2.000 from the 10.000 political prisoners who were destined for the F-type cells had been convicted for use of violence) we can presume that the "white cells" are built for those who resist the projects of domination, irrespective of the means they use in their struggle.

The special prison status is extended beyond the political prisoners and involves prisoners who are characterized "indisciplined" or "dangerous", like in Spain where the FIES status was applied after a series of revolts inside the prisons.

Moreover, as the prisoners for N17 and ELA have stated during their trials, the long-time detention in isolation practically functions as an overtime inquisition.

The greek state introduces the isolation status within the context of upgrading and modernizing the mechanisms of repression. It is part of a global process, in which Guadanamo is the most characteristic expression, reflected in Iraq, in the Abu Graib prison - a place of extermination, tortures and humiliation, in Israel’s concentration camp for Palestinian hostages in Negev desert, in the 20 secret prisons the USA maintain in warcrafts, military bases and islands.

Confinement in isolation is a psychosomatic torture, intending to decompose the personality of the prisoner, to achieve the individual’s submission and to break their morale. "White cells" are the mirror of state terrorism and capitalist atrociousness.

Despite all, the continuous fortification of the regime with new repressive measures (new prisons, terror-laws, extradition agreements), the intensification of social control with new technological means, the police occupation of the cities and the operation to terrorize society, are revealing the dominators’ anxiety for imminent social explosions, inevitably incubated under a system of oppression and exploitation.

Resistance to the modern tyranny of the state and capital is about rekindling the flames of social and class war, self-organizing the struggle and expressing solidarity to political prisoners, it is about the continuous and adamant antagonism to the state’s plans.

AGAINST THE "WHITE CELLS" OF DEMOCRACY

AGAINST ALL PRISONS

FREE THE IMPRISONED FIGHTERS

THE STATE IS THE ONLY TERRORIST

Open Assembly of Anarchists-Antiauthoritarians July 2004

1. June 29 2002 a bomb exploded in the hands of Savas Xiros in the port of Piraeus, causing him severe injuries. Xiros was taken to hospital unconscious. The next days the only contact he had when opening his eyes was with "anti"terrorist police and "anti"terrorist prosecutor. In this situation he was interrogated with the use of drugs. It was the beginning of the arrests for "revolutionary organization November 17".

2. The trials for N17 and ELA were based on the antiterrorist law - first time applied for a court process in Greece. The judges are appointed with a "lottary" between selected judges and, the most important, there are no jurors. The process takes place inside Koridallos prison, with strict rules to avoid publicity - television cameras and reporters are not allowed inside.