Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

No peace for self-publicist Blaine while British prisoner starves in Greece

THESSALONIKI PRISONERS SOLIDARITY GROUP | 05.10.2003 20:07 | Thessaloniki EU | Repression | London

NEWS RELEASE
8.00am
SUNDAY 5TH OCTOBER 2003
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Free the Saloniki 7!
Free the Saloniki 7!


We''ve gone to Tower Bridge today because while David Blaine has become a public spectacle in London by imprisoning himself in a glass case, Simon Chapman has been imprisoned out of the public gaze in Greece for a crime he did not commit. Today, Simon has begun a hunger strike, along with six other prisoners.

We promise: until Simon is free, there will be no peace for this second rate publicity seeker, David Blaine.

Mr Blaine is free to leave his box any time he chooses, but an innocent Briton remains incarcerated abroad, framed up, beaten up and banged up.

As Blaine starves himself for financial gain, seven innocent men are starving for their freedom.

Abracadabra
Next year Greece hosts the Olympics. They want the world to marvel at the magic of their Athenian ideal but behind the smoke and mirrors lie political prisoners in Diavatas prison, imprisoned because they protested at the EU's racist asylum policies.

Simon, a graphic designer from Basildon in Essex, was unlucky enough to fall to the ground when one of Greece's riot squads baton charged their demonstration against the EU summit in Thessaloniki on Saturday 21st June.

He was beaten until he was bloody and needed stitches to the head. To add incarceration to injury, police replaced the blue rucksack he had been photographed wearing, with three black rucksacks filled with weapons and Molotov Cocktails. The entire incident was captured on film by ET3 - Greek national TV.

So why have all the prisoners been denied bail?

The Greek public have seen the TV images of police putting a hammer and an axe into a black rucksack filled with molotov cocktails and depositing it at Simon's feet. They have seen the footage of Simon surrounded by police officers with blood pouring down his face, and the photos of Simon wearing his own BLUE rucksack being beaten by the officers.

So why haven't these pictures been shown by the British media?

Now you see them now you don't
In the TV footage, there are NO bags around Simon. Minutes later, three black bags are placed beside him by police who have walked up from further down the street. This is the only evidence the police have submitted against Simon.

On the strength of it, Simon's Greek lawyers have issued two appeals demanding the charges be dropped. Both have been turned down with the judges not even bothering to look at the video or photographic evidence.

Refused bail, all seven prisoners have languished in a maximum security Greek prison and are facing sentences of up to 25 years if convicted. All of them have been fitted up. One, Kastro, a Syrian living in Crete for over 18 years, is facing torture & persecution if he is deported back to Syria. Two weeks ago,  http://indymedia.org.uk/Kastro, an artist and leader of the immigrants union in Crete, began a hunger strike against his threatened deportation.

Because of this, Simon says he has no option but to go on hunger strike. We have no option but to support him by any means necessary.
EDITORS NOTES:
1. Further information can be received by contacting
 thessalonikiprisoners@yahoo.co.uk or phoning 07765 615 841
2. Footage of Simon’s arrest and the police fabricating evidence is available from
Thessaloniki Prisoners Solidarity Group. Contact us for copies on CD / DVD/ VHS
tape. Alternatively you can view and download the footage from the Italian Indymedia
website at:  http://italy.indymedia.org/uploads/simon.avi
Photos of today’s action on the South Bank are available by contacting
 pete_tpsg@hotmail.com
4. Simon shares a cell with 9 other prisoners, in temperatures reaching 40 degrees.
He has already been refused bail twice (as well as the appeals against the charges)
and now awaits the outcome of a fresh appeal for bail.
5. Should the prisoners appeal be turned down, they each face between 12-18 months
on remand until they get the opportunity of a full trial.
6. Simon can receive letters & paperback books. We urge people send him their
solidarity & support. Address:
Kratoumeno Simon Chapman, Dikastikes Fylakes Diavaton
T.K 540 12, Thessaloniki, GREECE

THESSALONIKI PRISONERS SOLIDARITY GROUP
- e-mail: thessalonikiprisoners@yahoo.co.uk

Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

You have done the right thing in targetting this nutter!

06.10.2003 09:31

You lot have done the right thing for once in targetting this nutter David Blaine. While important events are happening around the world that people should be interested in David Blaine is focussing world attention on himself and his stupid, idiotic stunt. I will come along to join you with my own banner which will say: "Fuck off yankee nutter, go home!".

Rockwell


Twat in a box is a less serious occupation.

06.10.2003 15:21

But Iraqis saying, "Fuck of Yankeee nutters, go home!" are too stupid to know what's good for them.......?

I was on a speedboat under the bridge when they were climbing about putting the banner up. Not the one in the picture but a white one. It would have had far more impact if it had been readable. It's no use making a point if no-one knows what it is.

It does sound like Chapman was blatantly fitted up though.

Afinkawan
mail e-mail: afinkawan@yahoo.com


Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech