Belgrade 6 Acquitted
icicle | 17.02.2010 17:59 | Repression | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements
The six Serbian anarcho-syndicalists who were charged with 'International Terrorism' have been acquitted today.
The 'Belgrade Six' were released today, on the first day of their court hearing.
All six were charged for 'International Terrorism', maximum penalty 15 years imprisonment, for an action at Belgrade's Greek embassy which caused 18 Euros worth of damage.
The Belgrade Six have been imprisoned since their arrest in September 2009. They faced blackmail and abuse.
On the 24th of August 2009 a window of Belgrade's Greek embassy was painted with an anarchist A, had a window smashed and had minor smoke damage caused to it.
The action was carried out to protest the Greek State and to express solidarity with Todoris Iliopulos. Iliopulos was in an extremely critical situation, on the verge of death: he had been on hunger strike since July 10. His hunger strike was related to his imprisonment after the uprisings of December 2008 in Greece.
Although prisoners from that time had been released, Iliopulos was facing various charges for the December events on false testimony made by police.
The most known anarchist in Serbia, Ratibor Trivunac from the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI – the Serbian section of the International Workers’ Association) was interviewed in the press the day after the action at the Greek embassy. He stated that he did not know such a group and that this was not the way anarcho-syndicalists usually chose for their struggle.
However, he, just like the others from ASI, refused to condemn this act, which they considered to be nothing in comparison to the damage done by the repressive Greek state.
On September 3-4, six members of ASI were arrested, including Trivunac.
The case of the Belgrade Six has brought back recent memories of the region's dark political past, and their acquittal is seen as a major event in itself.
Activists in Stockholm, Sweden, were amongst the first internationals to find out about the release. Fifteen activists braced the snow and held a solidarity demonstration for the Belgrade Six outside the Serbian embassy of Stockholm today. The Serbian Ambassador came out to the demonstration to announce the breaking news.
Serbian newspaper B92.net confirms this:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.b92.net%2Finfo%2F
The Serbian Ambassador, obviously very happy, commented, "You call this a demonstration? Fifteen people? In Serbia we have 500,000 people in a demonstration! I have been a part of them!"
All six were charged for 'International Terrorism', maximum penalty 15 years imprisonment, for an action at Belgrade's Greek embassy which caused 18 Euros worth of damage.
The Belgrade Six have been imprisoned since their arrest in September 2009. They faced blackmail and abuse.
On the 24th of August 2009 a window of Belgrade's Greek embassy was painted with an anarchist A, had a window smashed and had minor smoke damage caused to it.
The action was carried out to protest the Greek State and to express solidarity with Todoris Iliopulos. Iliopulos was in an extremely critical situation, on the verge of death: he had been on hunger strike since July 10. His hunger strike was related to his imprisonment after the uprisings of December 2008 in Greece.
Although prisoners from that time had been released, Iliopulos was facing various charges for the December events on false testimony made by police.
The most known anarchist in Serbia, Ratibor Trivunac from the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI – the Serbian section of the International Workers’ Association) was interviewed in the press the day after the action at the Greek embassy. He stated that he did not know such a group and that this was not the way anarcho-syndicalists usually chose for their struggle.
However, he, just like the others from ASI, refused to condemn this act, which they considered to be nothing in comparison to the damage done by the repressive Greek state.
On September 3-4, six members of ASI were arrested, including Trivunac.
The case of the Belgrade Six has brought back recent memories of the region's dark political past, and their acquittal is seen as a major event in itself.
Activists in Stockholm, Sweden, were amongst the first internationals to find out about the release. Fifteen activists braced the snow and held a solidarity demonstration for the Belgrade Six outside the Serbian embassy of Stockholm today. The Serbian Ambassador came out to the demonstration to announce the breaking news.
Serbian newspaper B92.net confirms this:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.b92.net%2Finfo%2F The Serbian Ambassador, obviously very happy, commented, "You call this a demonstration? Fifteen people? In Serbia we have 500,000 people in a demonstration! I have been a part of them!"
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