Posts Tagged ‘Nikos Maziotis’
Athens: Prison sentences in the 2nd trial against Revolutionary Struggle (Greece)
Thursday, March 3rd, 2016
UPDATE: Post-sentencing statement of Nikos Maziotis.
On March 3rd 2016, the Koridallos prison court sentenced all co-accused in the second trial against Revolutionary Struggle with regard to the attack with a car bomb containing 75kg of explosives against the Bank of Greece’s Supervision Directorate in central Athens on April 10th 2014; the shootout in Monastiraki on July 16th 2014 (when comrade Nikos Maziotis was injured and recaptured by police); and expropriations of bank branches.
Revolutionary Struggle member Nikos Maziotis was sentenced to life in prison plus 129 years and a fine of 20,000 euros.
Revolutionary Struggle (fugitive) member Pola Roupa was sentenced to 11 years in prison on misdemeanor charges (if arrested, she will stand trial on felony charges, too).
Antonis Stamboulos was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Giorgos Petrakakos was sentenced to 36 years in prison plus a fine of 9,000 euros.
-via contrainfo.
Tags: Antonis Stamboulos, Athens, Giorgos Petrakakos, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Nikos Maziotis, Pola Roupa, Revolutionary Struggle, Trial
Posted in Prison Struggle
Police allege helicopter escape attempt by revolutionary comrades held hostage in Korydallos Prison, implicate comrade in clandestinity Pola Roupa of Revolutionary Struggle (Greece)
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
Over the last days an anti-terrorist media spectacle is unfolding in Greece. Police released a statement about an incident of attempted helicopter hijack on 21 February; a woman using a fake ID card and apparently with the description of Pola Roupa, clandestine member of R.O. – Revolutionary Struggle attempted to hijack a helicopter departing from Thebes with a pistol. The woman had booked a flight to pick up 5 people at a pre-arranged route, but caused the pilot at gunpoint to change direction towards Attica. At one point, the pilot fought back, being an ex-policeman, who claimed to have recognised Roupa through media photographs. He tried to take the pistol, leading to a struggle which ended in the helicopter being brought down with two bullet holes in the windshield and one in the instrument panel. The woman then escaped and so far has not been captured. Police recovered a pistol mag, headphones and a wig which were sent for forensic analysis. The police believe that this was an attempt to spring imprisoned member of Revolutionary Struggle, Nikos Maziotis, from Korydallos Prison, and they also speak as well of anarchist comrade Antonis Stamboulos, bank robber Giorgos Petrakakos and “at least 2 to 3 members” of R.O. – Conspiracy of Cells of Fire who are suspected of participating. The police now attempt to reconstruct the “synchronisation” of the imprisoned comrades and locate the woman who made the defeated hijacking operation.
Maziotis is held in the isolation dungeon which is the basement of the Woman’s Section of Korydallos, where members of R.O. – November 17 and R.O. – Conspiracy of Cells of Fire are also held. Searches by the security forces took place in all parts of the isolation basement yesterday night revealing absolutely nothing.
Tags: 17 November, Antonis Stamboulos, Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, Conspiracy of Cells of Fire : Imprisoned Members Cell, Giorgos Petrakakos, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Nikos Maziotis, Pola Roupa, Revolutionary Struggle
Posted in Prison Struggle
Updates from the new trial of Revolutionary Struggle (Greece)
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
“Those who live on 300 or 400 euros a month are not terrorised by Revolutionary Struggle, but by you and your regime.”
In a climate of tension, a new trial for Nikos Maziotis unfolded in the specially designed court in the female prison wing of Korydallos. He is now being accused for acts allegedly committed during the period that he was wanted by police. His co-defendants are his fugitive companion, Pola Roupa, the anarchist A. Stamboulou who is denying the charges, and the recently arrested G. Petrakakos.
The defendants are charged with, among other things, the offenses of membership and participation in a terrorist organization of which the leader is claimed to be Maziotis, an accusation of exploding a car bomb at the Bank of Greece on Amerikis Street in April 2014, for which Maziotis has taken political responsibility, and also for supply and possession of explosives, explosions, and two robberies. Moreover, Nikos Maziotis is accused of attempted homicide in the shoot-out with policemen in Monastiraki in the summer of 2014 when he was arrested.
The manifesto and the banks
The request of the lawyers of Nikos Maziotis for the prosecution to produce representatives of the banks which he reportedly robbed, made the presence of the defense strongly felt. The accused took the floor and said the banks were, “predatory organizations, there was no robbery, expropriation is the reality of the event.”
And when asked by the court to speak in his defense, the accused read a text-manifesto with harsh words against the political system and the judges. “Those who live on 300 or 400 euros a month are not terrorised by Revolutionary Struggle, but by you and your regime,” he said addressing the judges. Nikos Maziotis declared himself an “anarchist prisoner of war”. He described the trial as political, claiming it was a title of honor for him to be armed.
The other defendant A. Stamboulou claimed himself an “anarchist prisoner of war” and denied the charges, claiming that they have no relation to reality as there has, “not been found any evidence against him.” And he called his trial “political” and attributed his persecution to the “rage of repressive mechanisms.”
G. Petrakakos, in turn, denied the charges and reserved the right not to speak in his own defense.
‘Evening’ trial
The tone went up further when the presiding judge announced that the court sessions would start at noon and will last until the evening as there is a risk of the expiration of 18 months [of pretrial detention time] for the accused Stamboulou. The legal advocates responded by invoking the “special status” of the trial, accusing the court that it gives priority to the principle of expediency, not of legality.
“Make a trial by yourself, your shame stands revealed!”, cried the packed audience.
“Arrange when we will come not from Pangrati but from the provinces,” complained witnesses.
“We will reach out to the Chief of Appeals, it is humanly impossible to meet,” said the lawyers.
Finally, after these reactions, the President interrupted the schedule for the morning of October 19, clarifying however that the other meetings will be held. . . in the afternoon and then proceeded to call out the the names of witnesses, amid loud protests.
(via The Barbarian Times)
Tags: Antonis Stamboulos, Athens, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Nikos Maziotis, Pola Roupa, Revolutionary Struggle, Trial
Posted in Prison Struggle
EN/FR/IT/DE – ‘Concerning the New Memorandum and the Elections of 20 September’ by Nikos Maziois of R.O.- Revolutionary Struggle (Greece)
Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
The 3rd Memorandum signed by the SYRIZA government marks the complete political bankruptcy of the left regime and the chimerical aspirations for a more “humane” capitalism. After taking office last January, this marks the collapse of the attempted Syriza management of the defeat of the popular social movements from the period 2010-2012. For those who had no illusions, this whole period until the adoption of the 3rd Memorandum represents simply a waiting period for the predicted backtracking, where the campaign promises to repeal or renegotiate the Memorandum and partial cancelling of the debt along with a parallel policy for the relief of the poor was first followed by the agreement of February 20 which extended the second memorandum, and then came (despite the disapproval of 62% of the voters in the referendum of July 5 rejecting the proposals of lenders) the third memorandum which is much worse than the measures rejected in the referendum.
Within a few months, Syriza crossed over its “red lines” in complete retreat and acceptance of the creditors’ demands, towards the acceptance of a Memorandum far more brutal than that which was voted by the previous Samaras government.
“First time left” [note: πρώτε φορά αριστερά- a popular Syriza slogan claiming that they were for the first time a left government in Greece’s history, as if they were somehow different from PASOK] and the total humiliation of the will of the social majority to get rid of Memorandum policies that make them serfs of the markets is unprecedented. (more…)
Tags: Athens, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Nikos Maziotis, Revolutionary Struggle, SY.RIZ.A.
Posted in Autonomy
Statement by Nikos Maziotis to the appeals court at the first trial of the Revolutionary Struggle on July 7 – Concerning the bankruptcy of the country (Greece)
Monday, July 13th, 2015
As is well known, the repressive attack by the state against Revolutionary Struggle in 2010, as an historical fact, was a counterpart to the signing of the first memorandum by the Papandreou government and bringing the country under the authority of the IMF, the ECB, and the EU. As was said at the time by a government official, our arrests prevented “a large terrorist attack that would have ended the economy,” a statement proving the dangerousness of the action of Revolutionary Struggle at a critical juncture for the regime.
The first trial against the organization was in the period of the application of the first memorandum, developments that included controlled bankruptcy proceedings and imposed a social policy of genocide and euthanasia towards segments of the population that caused thousands of deaths so far, and poverty, hunger and misery. When the first trial started in October 2011, we had stated that the trial was conducted in a period awaiting formal bankruptcy of the country, which did not happen then, because there was unveiled a controlled bankruptcy regime in order to save the lenders, the then holders of Greek bonds and to defend the Eurozone from the risk of transmission of the Greek crisis.
It is an irony of history that ultimately the bankruptcy of Greece is associated with the days of the leftist Syriza government almost four years later, which announced a referendum on the question YES or NO to the proposals of lenders for the new memorandum that they will sign. Along with the bankruptcy of the country comes the bankruptcy of the left social-democratic illusions that promised state interventions in favor of the workers and the poor of the EU inside a globalized neoliberal environment. (more…)
Tags: Athens, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Letter, Nikos Maziotis, Revolutionary Struggle, SY.RIZ.A.
Posted in Autonomy
Text of Revolutionary Struggle member Nikos Maziotis regarding Greece’s default and exit from the EMU – en/fr/it
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015
The SYRIZA-led government is collapsing. The Greek default and exit from the Eurozone, as choice of the lenders, is a process that started in 2010 and currently marks the beginning of the end of the SYRIZA government. The implementation of the memoranda from 2010 was one phase in the process of orderly default that the supranational economic elite had chosen, in order to ensure the sustainability of the Euro and to cut off one member that due to the debt crisis is considered gangrened and has to be expelled. Essentially, Greece’s default has always been regarded by the supranational economic elite as a prerequisite for its salvation, without even breaking the country’s obligations to the lenders, something that was ensured by the inclusion of the country into the power of the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission.
Since 2009, Greece was already a bankrupt country and this was something known by both the then government of Georgios Papandreou and the European Union. The supranational economic elite, from 2010 onwards, followed an orderly default tactic so as to safeguard the lenders, the then holders of Greek bonds, the French, German, British and American banks.
The first aim of the memorandum was that it prohibited unilateral suspension of debt payments on the part of the debtor. On that basis, all of the Greek state-owned assets were frozen to ensure the repayment of the debt.
(more…)
Tags: Analysis, Anti-cuts, Athens, Economic Crisis, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Nikos Maziotis, Revolutionary Struggle, SY.RIZ.A.
Posted in Autonomy
N.Maziotis and K.Gournas in prison transfer from Domokos to Korydallos for appeal trial in Revolutionary Struggle case (Greece)
Friday, May 29th, 2015
22.5.2015 – Comrades Nikos Maziotis and Kostas Gournas were transferred yesterday from Domokos prisons to Koridallos prisons where the upcoming trial will begin today 22.5.15 in the special court room of the prison.
The comrades were take straight to the basement cells of the female prisons, where they are basically in isolation…
After the demand by comrade Nikos Maziotis for a postponement in order for him to contact his lawyer since his transfer from Domokos was only the previous day, the court decided to adjourn till Wednesday June 10th at 9am.
After communicating with the comrades of the Revolutionary Struggle over the phone, we can state that they are strong and their morale is high!
via actforfree.
Tags: Athens, Domokos, Greece, Korydallos Prison, Kostas Gournas, Nikos Maziotis, Prison Transfer, Revolutionary Struggle, Trial, Type C prisons
Posted in Prison Struggle
Text by Nikos Maziotis, member of Revolutionary Struggle for the event organized by the International Red Help for the 1st of May (Greece, Switzerland)
Friday, May 1st, 2015
The events of May 1886 that took place in Chicago are a turning point in the history of the revolutionary labor movement.
It was not only the fight of the workers to reduce working hours to eight hours daily that featured in this fight and led to the global fight of the proletariat for an 8 hour work day, but it was also a response of the workers to a crackdown by the bosses, and the murder of workers at the McCormick factory. This response was “Workers in arms” which called for a reaction of the working class to the killings of the bosses. It was the armed reaction of the workers when police ordered the dissolution of the Hay Market Square protest that was called against the killings of the strikers at the McCormick factory. The armed tradition of the working class and revolutionary movement was at that time closely related to unionism and the struggle for an 8 hour work day, better working conditions, wage increases, social security. And all this was seen to some extent, as a stage on the way to the abolition of the capitalist system.
Such struggles, which were inspired by the events of May 1886 in Chicago erupted in many countries over the next few years in France, in Italy, Spain, Russia, Mexico, Argentina and they were characterized by the use of armed violence on the part of workers.
Unfortunately a large part of the labor movement adopted an approach that considered armed practices as “provocation” and practices of “individual terrorism” that harm the labor movement and were therefore condemnable. There is the view, for example, that the events of the Hay Market Square with the throwing of a bomb and the armed scuffle against the police that followed were an intentional provocation to justify the murder of several of the assembled workers, but also the conviction and execution by hanging of the organizers of the Hay Market Square protest. (more…)
Tags: Golden Dawn, Greece, International Solidarity, Letter, Mayday, Nikos Maziotis, Pavlos Fyssas, Revolutionary Struggle, Switzerland, SY.RIZ.A.
Posted in Autonomy
Statement of Revolutionary Struggle member Nikos Maziotis about the U.S. State Department list of international “terrorists” (Greece)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
From ContraInfo:
In 2009, the anarchist urban guerrilla group Revolutionary Struggle (Epanastatikos Agonas) was designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S. Department of State, in the aftermath of a rocket propelled grenade attack against the U.S. Embassy in Athens in January 2007.
On April 21, 2015, the State Department issued “terrorist designation” against one of the members of Revolutionary Struggle, anarchist prisoner Nikos Maziotis. The next day, the comrade issued the following statement in response:
“Whoever is not with us is against us”
– from a speech of U.S. President George W. Bush after September 11, 2001
“We are not with you, we are against you”
– from a statement of Nikos Maziotis to the special court in Koridallos prisons on June 11, 2012 regarding the Revolutionary Struggle attack on the U.S. Embassy
The State Department admittedly did me great honor by including me in the list of international “terrorists”. This is the second time that the planetary killers honor me as a Revolutionary Struggle member, since they had placed a one-million-dollar bounty on me along with other members of the organization after the Revolutionary Struggle attack against the U.S. Embassy in Athens in January 2007. (more…)
Tags: Domokos, Greece, Insurrection, Letter, Nikos Maziotis, Revolutionary Struggle, Savvas Xiros, SY.RIZ.A., War
Posted in Prison Struggle
Hunger strike termination statement by Revolutionary Struggle member Nikos Maziotis (Greece)
Saturday, April 11th, 2015
On April 5th 2015, anarchist prisoner Nikos Maziotis announced the end of his hunger strike. Below is his statement.
After 35 days of struggle, I terminate the hunger strike that I began on March 2nd along with other comrades. I have decided to do so not owing to the fact that I have reached the limits of my endurance but because I believe that, considering the developments regarding the requestive context, this fight has completed its cycle and has exhausted its potential, taking into account also the solidarity acts that have taken place. I have chosen to suspend the hunger strike now, after the justice ministry’s bill introduction, seeing no point in waiting at least 10 days until it’s voted on, after Easter has passed. I however remain extremely cautious over any modifications that the ministry is supposed to present in relation to the hoodie law or DNA legislation; because the government has already demonstrated how unreliable it is in fulfilling its proclamations. (more…)
Tags: Domokos, Greece, Hunger Strike, Letter, Nikos Maziotis, Revolutionary Struggle, SY.RIZ.A., Type C prisons
Posted in Prison Struggle
