Act For Freedom Now!

March 9, 2016

On the night between 8 and 9 March 2016, using dumped garbage and flammable products, we set fire to the front of the architect’s studio in Archi 5 rue Voltaire in the centre of Montreuil-sous -Bois.

On its website Archi 5 boasts of having achieved, or being in the act of achieving, alongside innocuous buildings, the following list of gruesome projects:

The prisons of Bourg en Bresse, of Draguignan, of Mont de Marsan, of Rennes, the jail of Condé-sur-Sarthe and Vendin the Veil, the Pole of the Judicial Police of Cergy-Pontoise, the police station in Clichy-sous-Bois, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Chartres, the detention centre of French Polynesia in Tahiti.

We dedicate this action to all those fight for freedom and against all authority, especially the anarchist comrades Monica Caballero and Francisco Solar in the clutches of the Spanish State and are risking very heavy prison sentences, do not deny a word of what they think and what they are.

Fire to the prisons.

Fire to those who build them.

[Published on Indymedia Nantes, March 11, 2016]

Le Chat Noir Emeutier

Translated by Act for freedom now

Second day March 9 of the trial against Anarchist comrades Mónica and Francisco

March 8 – Summary of the first session of the trial against the comrades Monica Caballero and Francisco Solar

———————————————-

Today, Thursday, March 10, the third and final hearing in the trial of our comrades Mónica and Francisco took place. There was mainly the summing up of the lawyers for both the defence  and the prosecution, and that of the Public Prosecutor.

The hearing began with the expert witnesses called by the defence, who submitted reports on the comparative study of DNA from a number of objects found after the explosion, and DNA of Francisco and Mónica extracted from objects taken from their cells. They confirmed what had already been exposed in the reports: there is absolutely no correspondence.

Subsequently, the judge asked whether the parties confirmed their initial conclusions, a question to which the lawyer of the specific accuser, the woman who was in Pilar at the moment of the explosion, confirmed wanting to maintain the charges of “damage” and “injury”, but asked for the charges of membership and conspiracy to be dropped, significantly lowering the request to 12 years and a day for each and asking for compensation of 102,000 euro.

The summing up began with the Public Prosecutor who retained the 4 charges as in the indictment: membership, massacre, injury and conspiracy. He also retained the request of 44 years prison for each. In his argumentation he insisted that after the oral hearing and the investigators’ reports, the participation of the comrades in an organisation of a terrorist nature remains proven.

In the face of the discrediting of the experts by the defence in previous hearings by alluding to their lack of documented training in relation to what is stated in the reports, the prosecutor wanted to validate their professional offices on the basis of their technical and practical knowledge. The prosecution continued his exposition along the same lines, taking for granted the participation of Francisco and Mónica in the action in Pilar and their intention to attack the shrine of Montserrat. Concerning the charge of injury, he referred to the medical reports that assess the acoustic injury and the psychological consequences of the woman affected.

He continued with an exposition of the specific charge, explaining the reason for the change in his conclusions after the hearing, pointing out that although he agrees with the Prosecutor concerning membership of the comrades in the FAI-FRI and GAC, there are no sufficient arguments for this to be considered a terrorist organization. A similar argument was used to justify the withdrawal of the charge of massacre: he considers that effectively their visit to Montserrat had the intention to attack the same, but that there is insufficient evidence to prove it. In relation to the accusations, it is important to note that he changed the charge of “massacre” to “damage” with terrorist aims.

The final expositions were by the defence and were blunt and categorical in relation to the accusatory thesis. It was an extensive exposure, so we will look at the main aspects of the argumentation here:

– The court’s lack of impartiality for having participated in investigations which were up to the investigating judge. It was also discussed whether the fact that the court would have been the same to decree the extension of prison on remand arguing that there was sufficient “evidence” to adopt this measure was a sign of impartiality. The fact that police reports were included in the trial as expert evaluations was also mentioned.

– Lack of truth for reporting in the investigation that Francisco and Mónica had been sentenced in Chile for the caso Bombas and then released due to a “procedural error”, as they were acquitted for lack of evidence.

– The fact that the order of judicial proceedings and the prosecution’s text were a “cut and paste” of the investigators’ reports highlights the lack of impartiality in the investigation by the Public Prosecutor and in the preliminary investigation of the case.

– With solid technical documentation, the rigour of the system used to obtain the results of the anthropometric analysis was questioned, pointing out, for example, that the technical specificity of the program applied is never clear; why this system was used and not another and the fact that the results are far from reliable as they do not have the minimum technical requirements (camera distance, angle, light, pixels, image quality).

 – There was some discussion on the use of “open” sources, ie, obtained from the internet without a comparison with original sources.

 – It was reiterated that no eyewitness gives any description matching the two.

– The concept and practice of “solidarity and mutual aid” are inherent in all anarchists.

– In requiring at least 3 people to form a terrorist organization, the police investigation needed to link the two with other people and groups, and it is here that the GAC come into the trial.

– There is insufficient evidence to put them in conjunction with GAC and in no case could this be considered a terrorist organization, indicating that no action has been claimed with this acronym. The communiqués of the GAC and the book “Against Democracy” were gone through, demonstrating that no aspect of their contents that could indicate that this is an organization with terrorist aims.

– The defence argue that FAI-FRI does not correspond to any structure or organization and that it is a “signature” with which anarchists are called to action internationally. It also reiterates the fact that from 2010 it is no longer identified as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

– With regard to the explosive device danger ratio, based on the conviction that they are not responsible for the fact, it is reported that whoever carried out the Pilar action had no intention of causing harm to people given the characteristics of the device, the time at which it exploded and the telephone alert.

The trial ended with Francisco and Mónica’s right to a final word, where they took the opportunity to reaffirm their ideas as anarchists. Following this, the judge ordered the court to be cleared, amidst shouts of support of the comrades present.

We end this summary with the words with which the two comrades concluded their declarations, reflecting the strength and consistency of their convictions:

 DEATH TO THE STATE AND LONG LIVE ANARCHY!!!

—————————–

 Indymedia Barcelona

from: Informa-azione

Translated by Act for freedom now!

The second hearing in the trial against Francisco and Mónica took place today Wednesday March 9. The comrades are accused of belonging to a terrorist organization, slaughter, injury and conspiracy, charges for which the prosecutor is asking for 44 years’ prison for each.

 While this hearing was taking place in court No. 4 of the Tribunale Nazionale, a group in solidarity gathered outside the walls, shouting slogans of support that could be heard by the comrades inside the court.

 Despite the fact that yesterday’s hearing was centred on the statements of Mónica, Francisco and witnesses (police and eyewitnesses) presented by the Public Prosecutor, today’s began with that of the witnesses called by the defence before moving on to experts’ statements.

 The four witnesses presented by the defence confirmed the statements that they gave to the police at the time, in which none of the features that they described correspond with those of Mónica and Francisco.

The expert witnesses (all policemen) summoned by the Public Prosecutor focused on various aspects:

– Hazard of the explosive artefact: the policemen (national, scientific and TEDAX) who deposed followed the same line of magnifying the supposed explosion hazard and the possibility of causing harm to human life. There was an attempt to scientifically endorse this argument from a theoretical study on the impact of an artefact of 3 kg of gunpowder in an open field. This argument was contested by the defence since, although the investigation mentions a charge of between 2 and 3 Kg and the claim statement describes the use of 2 kg of gunpowder, the reports were made according to the theoretical criterion of 3 Kg, highlighting the intentions of the police.

– Anthropometric analysis: this compares images of Francisco and Mónica taken from the internet (without knowing whether the police have manipulated them or not) with images from Barcelona surveillance cameras. It is concludes with a high probability of coincidence in the case of Francisco and a lesser one in Mónica’s case. It should be pointed out that none of the witnesses has any qualification related to anthropometric expertise. The intervention of the defence highlighted the handicap of the computer system used, which can only give probabilities but cannot establish identity beyond any doubt.

– Belonging to a terrorist organization: the police’s argument is based on considering that the FAI-FRI, GAC and Commando Insurreccional Mateo Morral are part of the same terrorist organization. The policemen who elaborated the report on the FAI-FRI as a terrorist organization reported that it is considered such in a European Disposition of 2001, but did not know that already from 2009, in the same Disposition, it is no longer considered a terrorist organization. They also cite in their reports various trials that have taken place in European countries against the FAI-FRI. When asked what sources they had consulted to become aware of these trials, they revealed that they had used open sources (internet, press) and in no case any official body (court, police forces, etc.).

To establish the link between the FAI-FRI and the GAC they make reference to the fact that the latter respond to the call for direct action, solidarity and mutual support that the FAI-FRI realizes. Another argument that the police use to maintain that the GAC are a terrorist organization is temporality: they report that after the GAC’s first text of presentation appeared the first coordinated action was realized in the Spanish State.

In the description that they give of the functioning of the GAC the existence of some kind of informal leadership is indicated. They also cite as an indication of Mónica and Francisco’s belonging to a terrorist organization the various international communiques showing solidarity with them, such as those made starting by the call for a “Black December”; they also mention the solidarity text that Mónica contributed to the book “Mapeando el fuego” while on trial in Chile for the caso bombas.

Finally, in the afternoon session the medical expert cited the specific allegations of the injured woman that mainly certified psychological consequences resulting from the experience of the Pilar. The day ended with police reports related to fingerprints and DNA, which established that neither one nor the other were found in the places inspected in Zaragoza (in the remains of the explosive and in the phone booth from which it was made the bomb warning call was made).

 In the face with this farcical trial, the comrades are not alone. Until we are all free! Solidarity and struggle!

Indymedia Barcelona

Translated from Italian by Act for freedom now

At the start of the hearing, one of the defence lawyers intervened to remind the court that a text had been introduced expressing doubts on the impartiality of the court, requesting the change of the judges. It also called for another form of judgment, in which the accused could speak last, after all the witnesses and experts. In the face of the court’s refusal to grant both claims, the hearing began with the statements of Francisco and Monica, who refused to answer the prosecution’s questions, responding only to those of their lawyers.

 Both claimed their anarchist ideas, they denied responsibility for the attack at the Basilica del Pilar, as well as belonging to any organization, which, according to the cop literature, is composed of leaders and hierarchies. Before being interrupted by the judge of the court, Angela Murillo, Francisco declared: “Yes, I am an anarchist because I mean freedom from any constraint. I think that individual creativity springs forth when there is no authority, nor orders or commands from above, which only atrophy and degrade human conduct. The State implies subordination and is against every impulse of freedom; it also implies the existence of moneylenders and exploiters”. And on organizations … “they restrict individual freedom and reduce people’s initiative to pre-established norms.” And Monica: “Any hierarchical foundation is incompatible with my ideology and way of thinking, because each dome of Power is harmful and limiting for the human being”. And responding to a question from her lawyer, she took the opportunity to reaffirm their bonds of affinity and solidarity with the other arrested comrades.

After the comrades’ statements, it was the turn of the witnesses, beginning with several members of the National Police, nine in all, who had participated in some way in the investigations. In these statements there are some contradictions on the collaboration and the flow of information provided by the Chilean State and how this may have affected the way that the investigations centred on Monica and Francisco. In this sense, one of the defence lawyers presented as evidence a press release of the General Directorate of the National Police, which informed of the operation at the time and it was assumed was a result of cooperation between States.

 No doubt the court did not take it into account. The methods used for identification of the accused and therefore the accuracy of the results was also put in question. Immediately after they proceeded to hear the witnesses present at the time of the explosion in the religious temple. First, the woman who would have sustained injuries to her ear declared that, while she was praying, two people approached her warning her to leave the place. Still she cannot even confirm whether it was two men or a man and a woman. She simply saw the profile of a man whom she could not identify.

 The other two witnesses are a security guard and a doorman of the Basilica del Pilar, who apart from describing the time of the explosion endeavoured to convey the sense of the serious danger of the bomb.

 It is worth mentioning that some days before the trial the Church Council of Zaragoza withdrew from litigation.

 ————————————

Translated by Act for freedom now!

croce nera anarchica — 9 March 2016

Source: publicación Refractario

 From: http://insurrectionnewsworldwide. received & translated on 11.03.16:

On the night of March 9, we placed an incendiary device at the Santander bank branch on Ramiro Barcelos street. Our incentive to conspire and then carry out the attack was solidarity and complicity with anarchists behind bars who endure days and days of incarceration but still hold their heads high, proud of their ideas and convictions.

In response to the call for solidarity with the compas Monica Caballero and Francisco Solar we organized ourselves so that our desire to express solidarity became a fire to reach the companeros who are facing a trial in which they face 44 years in prison, accused of terrorism and particularly an attack on the Basilica of the Pillar in Barcelona.

There are many reasons and motives to attack Santander Bank. For example, besides being representatives of the Spanish state (who have kidnapped our companeros), in this territory they were the administrators of Augustus Pinochet’s money following the military dictatorship in Chile. In the end, these facts are only details that enhance our anger…Any banking institution that tries to hide their genocidal intentions with ‘cultural projects’ or other pseudo-humanist terms are representatives of a system that only inspires our disgust.

Branches of Santander Bank have been attacked twice in recent days in Santiago, Chile and in Buenos Aires. The two attacks were carried out in solidarity with Monica and Francisco. This silent, instinctive coordination of solidarity not only causes a great inconvenience to normal life at different points in the world, but also strengthens our ties, making it clear there are no borders and that we do not need leaders or vertical structures to attack several bars in the same cage.

With this solidarity action for Monica and Francisco, we also send greetings to the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire compas and their families who are also facing another trial against them. Their strength inspires us every day to walk looking for the fire to illuminate the darkness.

Down with the prison walls.

Incendiary solidarity with Monica and Francisco

For the proliferation of the groups of attacks. The beauty of solidarity is the complicity.

Long live anarchy!

Published on Feb 28, 2016
Informative and agitational video in solidarity with comrades Francisco Solar and Monica Caballero imprisoned in Spain since November 13th, 2013.
On March, 8th, 9th, 10th, 2016, Mónica and Francisco will face a trial in which they are looking at 44 years in prison.
Anarchic, Insurgent and Internationalist Solidarity with comrades Francisco and Monica!