Political Prisoners Set To Hunger Strike!

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday October 18, 2005 21:41 by Prisoner Solidarity

Dear Friends & Comrades!

Due to increased pressure placed upon several political prisoners of the PCE (r) and of GRAPO currently detained within the French prison system since July 2002 on unjust and false charges, a formal statement (see below in English and Spanish) has been issued to the Tribunal of their forth coming show trails giving notice of an ‘indefinite hunger strike’ to begin on 28th October 2005.

Release All Political Hostages Now!

Notice comes following on from the September 8th Court Session, when those involved requested the Tribunal for all those political prisoners currently held in isolation to be regrouped in the French Fresnes Prison, in order to prepare for their defense in the forth coming show trials against them to be held on 16 November 2005. All requests were denied.

Now, giving the fact that those involved have been isolated, beaten and tortured, and a host of falsified charges created their demands are not likely to be granted by the French Authorities - an ‘indefinite hunger strike’ expected to begin on 28th October.
Your solidarity is urgently requested to assist those involved to unsure their demand is met.

Please help these political prisoners, distribute this text far and wide, and ensure they are not left isolated, show you solidarity protest now:

Stop the Isolation!
Stop the Brutality!
End the Show Trials!

Statement sent by political prisoners to Tribunal

Tribunal of Grand Instance in Paris

14ème Chambre/2
4, boulebard du Palais
75005 PARIS Cedex 01, France.

October 6th 2005

Sir,
Marcos Martín Ponce, Gema Belén Rodríguez Miguel, Mª Ángeles Ruiz Villa, Fernando Hierro Chomón, Joaquín Garrido Gonzalez, Josefina García Aramburu y Marcos Regueira Fernández, Spanish Political Prisoners jailed in Fleury-Mérogis, Fresnes y Bois d'Arcy, we address to this tribunal to express:

Firstly:

We have been arrested according to several European Detention Orders based on prefabricated lies expired by a Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón Real, who consciously falsified information about our previous records to make possible our arrest.

Secondly:

We have to face a dossier built up without any judicial base. Throughout its 185 pages, we have been able to detect many manipulations, many lies, and a vast amount of false accusations without any foundations, without any proof to back them up. We haven’t even been able to recognise some of our statements to the police or the proceeding judges. We can affirm, with absolute certainty, that this dossier is a true shame for any judicial system that sees itself somehow democratic.

Thirdly:

For being able to tier apart each one of the falsehoods, each manipulation, each lie, we should be able to prepare our defense. The proceeding Judge has invested three years to fill up the dossier with lies. He has also been assisted with the help of the Spanish Civil Guard, who are the authors of the vast majority of pages within this dossier. And now, we only have one month to try to dissect all these lies and manipulations. More difficult for those accused who haven’t been able to read the dossier because they do not understand French. And we are still isolated, forbidden to communicate with each other (we are banned from doing so).

Fourthly:

On the September 8th Session, we asked the Tribunal for us to be regrouped in the Fresnes Prison to prepare our defense. Following the instructions of one of the proceeding judges, Jean-Louis Brugière, who has shown a special hatred against us, the public prosecutor refused our petition and asked the Tribunal to punish, it is to say to criminalize a right that assists all the detainees: The Right To Keep Silent. The Public Prosecutor justified the up keeping of the banning because most of us, making use of this right, didn’t make any statements to the police, the proceeding judge or the Public Prosecutor, and therefore to “punish” us by lengthening the time of the banning.
It is due to this, that from the next 28th October, if we are still banned and isolated amongst us, we will start an indefinite hunger strike. They do not leave any other option open to us but this to make them respect our right. We only demand one thing: The right to our defense, which in this case goes through the immediate lifting of this banning order and our regrouping within Fresnes prison to be able to prepare minimally our defense.

Political Prisoner of the PCE (r) and of the GRAPO detained since July 2002

List of Names & Addresses of the Nine Political Activists Facing French Show Trials:

Belen Lopez Calderon (currently at liberty)
Antonio Lago Iglesias (currently at liberty -- Antonio has already served 23 years in jail for his political beliefs and activities)

Please send letter or post card of support and solidarity to them individually at: c/o SECOURS ROUGE FRANCE - 21, RUE VOLTAIRE – 75011 Paris - FRANCE

Gema Rodriguez Miguel -- 36450
Marcos Martin Ponce -- 325695-S.E-D.4.3.g 29

Please send letter or post card of support and solidarity to them individually at: Maison d'Arret Fleury Merogis - 9, Av. des Peupliers 91705, FEURY MEROGIS- FRANCE

Fernando Hierro Chomon -- 902611-2D11
Joaquin Garrido Gonzales -- 902610-2D007
Maria Angelkes Ruiz Villa -- 902671-QC 240
Josefina Garcia Aramburu -- 902670-P-C.254

Please send letters or postcards of support and solidarity to them individually at: Maison d'Arret Fresnes - 3, Allee des Thuyas – 94261 FRESNES - FRANCE

Marcos Regueira Fernandez -- 66368 E 307

Please send letters or postcards of support and solidarity to him at:

Maison d'Arret des Yvellines - 5bis, rue Alexandre Turpault – 78395 Bois d'Arcy - FRANCE.