The buildings are owned by Marcel Paping, who has multiple real estate companies. He was present during the action, being aggressive and annoying towards people supporting outside. We got a lot of support from the neighbourhood. Many of the neighbours are bothered by the empty, neglected, run down buildings and shops. Although a few neighbours expressed aversion to the situation, others mentioned being happy that people finally took action against emptiness and housing need.
The 5 monumental buildings have been empty for 5 years. The owner wants to demolish them to create new apartments, a shop, and a garage, but his plans are so intrusive that the neighbours are against it.
The squatters have had house peace since 2 days, so the police was acting in name of the owner once again. This resulted in an illegal eviction and damage done to the building. After the owner did not succeed to enter with the key, cops broke windows and kicked in a door on the back, neither without a warning or wanting to talk to the spokes people or the squatters. [Read More]
Utrecht: Illegal eviction at Burgemeester Reigerstraat
Zeist (Netherlands): Krakelingenweg evicted
Around 16:30 yesterday afternoon, the eviction at Krakelingweg 19 came to an end. From 8:00 in the morning onward the police, BraTra, fire brigade, together with some cherry pickers were busy getting people out of the house (including a safe!), the basement, the roof, and of tree houses built on the terrain. During the whole day, the police blocked several parts of the forests in order to prevent anyone (‘looking like a squatter’) coming close to the building. Once the eviction got called to and end, security company Andor (a dog brigade) and DGR Dienstverlening started to clean and secure the building.
According to the police, 14 people got arrested, of which; 6 people inside or around the building; 4 people in tree houses; and 4 people wandering around the forest. The police mentioned that they were not sure whether these hikers were indeed people from “our group”. Also, they mentioned that 2 people had been brought to the hospital, one becoming unwell, and one suffering from hypothermia (low body temperature). We do not know whether both people were checked by an ambulance, and indeed brought to the hospital, or if this was a rumor. As far as we know, 12 people are in the police station (and not 14, as the cops mentioned). They are all doing fine.
After tree intense weeks of resistance, building, creating, and a lot of waiting, we have lost our goddamn cold but lovely home in the forest. Although the law is not on our side and cops seem to make it a little (lot!) harder for us each time, we will not stop. [Read More]
Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany): Mozart3 and Klara17 squats evicted!
Since the early morning hours the police have been clearing the two occupations at Mozartstraße 3 and Klarastraße 17. The fact that the owners, with the support of the police, are now putting an end to this is an expression of Freiburg’s misguided housing policy: the city supports profit-oriented companies in their activities, while the active design of open and free spaces and the use of empty buildings are criminalized.
Over the last few days, a free space has developed in both spaces which has been gratefully used by supporters, interested parties and the neighbourhood: Whether animated discussions, exciting lectures or simply coffee and cake, the programme was as varied as the people in it.
We feel that the fact that the owners are now putting an end to this with the support of the police is an expression of Freiburg’s misguided housing policy: profit-oriented companies are supported in their activities by the city, while the active use of open and free spaces and the use of empty buildings are criminalised.
We wish a broad public attention for both occupations during the eviction and refer here to the action “day X+2”, which will take place two days after the eviction. There we would like to make clear our support for Mozart3 and Klara17 and set a clear sign for affordable living space. [Read More]
London: Squatter’s Digest: Grow Heathrow halved, ciao to Asilo
I do have a pretty good excuse for being a little late in writing this month’s column, namely being arrested and remanded for a squatting-related offence (of which I am not guilty for the record, as I will be testifying at trial later in the year).
At least I’m not all talk and no walk huh.
A couple of nights in the cells isn’t so bad though – let’s start this round-up with some hard-hitting news from abroad. The Fraguas case in Spain. For those not aware of the situation, since 2013 a group of squatters calling themselves the Association of Rural Repopulation of Sierra Norte, more commonly Fraguas Revive, occupied an abandoned village in Guadalajara near Madrid. The intention was to breathe life back into the village that was left empty since the expropriation by the Franco regime, and to provide space for people to imagine and act out utopias of the future through self-organisation and sustainability. [Read More]
Call for Solidarity with the Imprisoned of Operazione Scintilla, Italy
Summary of the recent repressive operation in Italy in connection with the resistance against the Italian migration regime.
On Thursday 7 February 2019, at 4:40 a.m., the eviction of the squat Asilo Occupato in Via Alessandria 12 in Turin, occupied since 1995, began. The eviction was carried out as part of the Operazione Scintilla (Operation Spark). Several hundred Carabinieri in riot gear, police officers and Guardia di finanza with machine guns and plain clothes police not only evicted the house, but also arrested six anarchists. A seventh person is still being searched for.
The charges are serious: formation of a subversive association, incitement to crime and the possession, manufacture and transportation of explosives in a public place. The charges are related to the resistance against the Italian migration regime, namely against the deportation camps/prisons CPR and CIE (Centro per l’Immigrazione e il Rimpatrio, Immigration and Repatriation Centre: Centro di identificazione ed espulsione, Identification and Deportation Centre).
The Asilo was evicted as part of this operation because the state regards it as the logistical and operational base of this subversive, insurrectional association. The eviction of the Asilo was delayed by the squatters for 36 hours because some of them had retreated to the roofs. In the meantime, sympathizers organized wild demos in the city, where there were clashes with the police. The Asilo was made uninhabitable in the last few days (destruction inside, bricked up windows, etc.). [Read More]
Turin (Italy): Asilo Occupato and CSO Giulio Cesare evicted
Thursday February 7, early in the morning, the cops with the help of the fire brigade, stormed the Asilo Occupato, a place that has been occupied since 1995 and been scene of organisation of social struggles (against evictions, against prisons for migrants, still a few years ago against the TAV…). People climbed on to the roof, where they remained for over 24 hours. In the end, the cops managed to get everyone out and condemn the building. Same thing for Le Serrande, the occupation of Corso Giulio Cesare.
Several solidarity gatherings took place in the neighbourhood, which had been completely cordoned off by the cops. Apparently some people have been arrested for resistance or violence against the blues. The evening rally to discuss the situation at Radio Blackout turned into a wild demonstration.
In addition to evicting the premises, the aim of this repressive operation was to arrest persons accused of subversive association. The 6 arrested (another person, under arrest warrant, wasn’t found) are accused of a series of explosive attacks against companies and institutions (including the French Embassy and several Post Offices) related to the detention and expulsion of migrants. [Read More]
Amsterdam: ADM eviction
The ADM eviction has started on monday morning, 7 january 2019. Time line, pictures, videos and more news are to be found on Indymedia Nederland. No statement at the moment about this eviction on the ADM website. More news to follow as soon as possible…
PRESS RELEASE, Amsterdam 9 January 2019
Municipality of Amsterdam observes large-scale destruction of Community ADM
Mayor Halsema of Amsterdam today received through neighbourhood director Ferry den Edel and the visibly concerned civil servant Ivar Schreurs the observation that most of the houses, properties and workshops belonging to our community ADM yesterday were destroyed ‘by third parties’. [Read More]
London: Squatter’s Digest: That’s a wrap
Welcome to the second, and final edition of Squatters Digest (for 2018). You made it, faithful readers.
In a shock headline, squatting in the UK continues. Evictions still take place every month, but due to the huge number of empty properties in the country, people are still finding ways to self-house. These properties sit vacant while people struggle with rents, and with capitalism. Sometimes people die, and still these buildings remain empty. As the temperatures look to drop below zero in the next couple of days, and I sit here with a horrible cold, I am reminded that it is coming up 6 years since the death of Daniel Gauntlett, a man who froze to death outside a building in Kent, too afraid to enter for fear of being prosecuted for the crime of squatting in a residential building, the infamous Section 144 LASPO law brought in back in 2012 that so many people with an interest in squatting will know all too well. [Read More]
London: Squatters digest- low tide. Next comes the flood
Welcome to the Squatter’s Digest, a new column for Freedom News, highlighting the ongoings of the squat scene in London and beyond, along with providing opinions on the politics of said goings-on. Quality and coherence are not guaranteed.
The 29th of October saw 150 high-court bailiffs and police descend upon the Tidemill Community Garden in Deptford, London, at 6am, pulling people from their tents, dragging them out of tree-houses, and laying waste to the entire occupation. Occupiers climbed the trees and refused to vacate, while outside fights broke out between the supporters and bailiffs (County Enforcement, well-known to squatters, see Corporate Watch’s latest article on them), who of course were protected by members of the Metropolitan Police force. At some point in the afternoon the last squatter was removed from the trees and the garden was all but lost. But this didn’t stop the people outside from trying for one last push to regain entry to the site. Rushing for the fences, people were thrown to the ground and detained by bailiffs and police, but also linked arms and refused to allow their fellow protestors to be taken to the arrest vans, defiant to the last. [Read More]
Zeist (Netherlands): Callout for support in resistance to illegal eviction
Yesterday the police illegally evicted the recently squatted building at Utrechtseweg 86, Zeist. The squatters had written statement from a neighbour that he had seen them in the building for over 24 hours, but still the police claimed the squatters were ‘caught in the act’, and evicted on those grounds.
The police refused to arrest or ID anyone, even when they had to forcefully evict the building. One person refused to cooperate to the point that they were forced to arrest them, but they were released hours later without charge. This unwillingness to bring this case to court proves that the police know that they are acting illegally.
Today the building was re-squatted. After long discussion between the acting officer of justice, the squatters, and the police, the squatters were given until 18.00 to leave. We will not leave!
This is a call out for support inside and outside of the building. The police in and around Utrecht are increasingly deciding to ignore the house-peace of squatters, and are finding any excuse to evict squats in the moment which they appear. We aim to gather as many people as possible inside and outside the building, to make it as difficult as we can for them to do so.
We have a working legal team, the deadline for the eviction is 18,00 today. [Read More]
The Hague: Pand Egypte squatted and evicted
Today (6 november) a recently squatted house in the Archipelbuurt in The Hague was evicted. The building is owned by the Egyptian government and served for decades as the residence of the Egyptian ambassador. After more than 10 years of vacancy it is in a miserable condition. Instead of respecting the domestic peace established by the squatters, the police decided today to evict the building under false pretexts. It is already the 4th unlawful eviction by the Haaglanden police force this year.
This afternoon the squatters of Surinamestraat 20 announced to the owner and police that they have been using the building as a living space since Saturday. The Egyptian ambassador and his lads, not charmed by the action, used threatening language on the spot. They thought that the building would be on Egyptian territory and that therefore no Dutch laws would apply. The police, who had been informed of the action by a written notification and by telephone by the squatters, confirmed after consultation that the territory table did not give cause for eviction. Nor did a situation arise that made it opportune for the police to evict on criminal grounds.
Initially, a discussion between the embassy police, the squatters’ spokesperson and the Egyptians was started, but when the Hague police force started to interfere in the situation, it soon became clear that they would not be taking the facts and observing the policy line on squatting drawn up by the Public Prosecution Service so closely this afternoon. Out of sheer powerlessness, it was thrown back into a ‘red-handedness’, even though it was the squatters themselves who had informed the police of the newly started habitation. [Read More]
Utrecht: Eviction of the Swamp starts today. Come to support
Support the Swamp, the eviction of the Swamp has started.
07.00h: workers from Borghese open the fence that separates the Swamp from the neighbors field.
10.30h: Police vans arrive to the field.
Eight cops entered the terrain and a bailiff started to walk around asking people to leave.
11.00h: the first arrest police van arrived.
11.20h: five people have been found inside of the Swamp, the bailiff hopes there’s no one else in places hard to access or hiding.It won’t be that easy. The Swamp will resist.
Lock ons and a monopot tower await the cops. Come to the swamp and support! [Read More]
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