Anti terror raids in France on the 11th november 2008

In the early morning on the 11th november the french police conducted one of the biggest police raids in the latest history in the name of counter terrorism against the left in france. The police searched several buildings and appartements in Paris, Rouen, Limoges, the La Meuse region and in the village of Tarnac in central France. During this raid ten people were arrested and taken into custody, nine of them are now confronted with serious charges of terrorist conspiracy and malicious mischief. The official reason for the raids are sabotage actions on the high speed train (TGV) network conducted with grapples in the night of the 7th to the 8th november in four different places in France.

The raid in Tarnac, a village of 350 inhabitants and the supposed base of the so called terrorists, was conducted with over 150 policemen of the national police, anti terrorist brigades, forensic units, explosives track hounds, and so on and took the whole day. The village of Tarnac was totally closed off for at least half a day, the public life was paralysed. In total, six people in Tarnac, two people in Rouen, one person in Paris and one person in the La Meuse region were taken into custody that day. Under the new anti terrorist law in France they could be hold in police custody for 96 hours without having the right to consult a lawyer. One Person, the mother of one of the still accused, was released without charges after three days. The other nine are all charged with “participation in a criminal organisation with terrorist intent”. Four of them were released after 96 hours of custody and are now free under judicial control. The other five are now in detention and are additionally charged with “collaborative malicious mischief with terrorist intent” by wich the investigators refer to the actions of sabotage on the SNCF network. One of them is even charged with “being the leader of a terrorist cell”.
Until today, neither the lawyers nor the public have seen any airtight evidence against the accused. The police has only presented iron bars, welding material, climbing equipment and so called “anarchist” literature (especially a book called “l´insurrection qui vient”, the coming uprising, written by an author collective calling themselves “comite invisible”, the invisible committee) to prove the guilt of the nine accused.
Nevertheless, the police raid was accompanied by a huge press campaign. The journalists launched their first articles at 8.30h in the morning having obviously been “well informed” by the police. Thats why in the first place it was for all the media totally clear that the arrested were the sought-after terrorists. Now the lawyers claim that the presumtion of innosence of their clients was heavily violated and that the court of justice is prejudiced.

Two days after the raids a public meeting took place in the village of Tarnac. More than hundred people attended this meeting to show their solidarity with the arrested and the people still on the ground. That evening the idea of starting a local support committee was born. The following day the first press conference of the three initial members of the local support committee took place where they demanded the immediate release of all the arrested and the immediate retreat of the accusation of “terrorism”.

The local support committee needs your support. There is a urgent need of donations to pay the lawyers and to support the people in detention.

The site is www.soutien11novembre.org

Here is a short translated text from the site of the local support committee:

How to support?

After the first shock-wave in the media it is first of all important to
create public pressure and not to let the affair calm down. We have to
maintain the pressure during the investigation. To achieve this goal,
everyone can start a local support commitee: organise events, take all
opportunities to explain the circumstances and inform about the situation,
collect funds...

An international solidarity movement is necessary to achieve the
liberation of the accused as fast as possible.

In the same time it is essential to guarantee a minimum of vital needs for
the imprisoned such as clothes, cigarettes, hygenical products etc...
Money is equally necessary to pay the lawyers, to allow the loved-ones to
visit the people in prison who are imprisoned in the region of Paris until
further notice.

The financial needs are real and urgent.

The donations will also be used for certain activities of the support
comittees.

A bank account is in creation and will soon be published on this site.

You can also write letters to the imprisoned to the adress of the support
comitte Tarnac, they will be forwarded to the prisoners. The adress is:

Gabrielle, Manon, Yldune, Benjamin, Julien
Comite de soutien aux inculpes de Tarnac
19170 Le Bourg
Tarnac
France

Thank you very much for your support...