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.

20-27 August Cumulative Update on Thodoris Iliopoulos

@ | 27.08.2009 11:29 | Repression | World

An update summarising what has happened in the last few days regarding Greek hunger striker Thodoris Iliopoulos.

48 days in hunger strike and counting...
48 days in hunger strike and counting...


An update summarising what has happened in the last few days regarding Greek hunger striker THODORIS ILIOPOULOS:

As you may already know, he is a defender of freedom and an admirer of Enrico Malatesta who was arrested at random by riot police in December 2008, detained in Korydalos Prison in Athens since then with fabricated molotov-throwing charges, a view supported only by two cops, even though other witnesses say that he is innocent because he was simply taking a walk with friends. On 10 July 2009 he went on hunger strike demanding his freedom, as he rejects all charges against him. "Justice" refused to release him, however, labeling him an enemy of "democracy".

On 20 August, still on hunger strike, he submitted an application requesting his release, while he previously had demanded to be hospitalised in a real hospital rather than in the under-funded and under-equipped prison's medical room. At some point Thodoris Iliopoulos' blood production ceased, due to his continuing hunger strike. The cops took him to Attiko Hospital, in handcuffs and under the hot Greek sun, for medical exams, and put him back into prison a few hours later.

Doctors who saw him strongly recommended his immediate hospitalisation, hinting at inadequate care at Korydalos Prison. Later, unidentified rumours were spread suggesting that he was about to be moved to Thriasio Hospital in Elefsina, a few kilometres out of Athens, and comrades went there waiting for him. It was later realised that this was disinformation, maybe on purpose, as at the same time he was being transferred (again in handcuffs under unbearable Greek summer temperatures) to Sotiria Hospital in Athens. Because of these rumours, he was taken to a room guarded by cops without "interference" by comrades, and it's this fact that made some people in Greece suspect strongly what the source of the rumours was.

He remains hospitalised in Sotiria Hospital now, still in hunger strike as his real demand is for immediate release because he is innocent. However, on 27 August the Public Prosecutor in Athens recommended to keep him detained, even though he is nearly dying after 48 days in hunger strike (doctors say after 30 days many hunger strikers suffer permanent damage). Nevertheless, it's usual in Greece to see Public Prosecutors recommending one thing and the rest of "justice" doing the opposite (if they have the will to do so or are forced by the people's protests), as the Public Prosecutor's recommendation isn't legally binding.

In the meantime many more organisations and political parties have protested against his ill-treatment. As his story is being picked up by leftist politicians and progressive newspapers, we shouldn't forget that it was the anarchist movement that first offered solidarity. However, what matters now is to get him out of prison, not argue about the usual issues that divide anarchists and authoritarian communists or progressives. A massive music concert was organised on 24 August in Athens as a symbolic gesture demanding his release, while solidarity protests and other actions happened other countries, including the UK, San Francisco, Lithuania, Serbia, Germany, etc.

He isn't the only hunger striker in Greek prisons, however: there are many immigrants who demand a humane treatment and go on short or long hunger strikes to protest the denial of their human rights. There is also Nikos Tsouvalakis (in hunger strike since 10 July in solidarity with Thodoris Iliopoulos), who was also arrested in December with allegations by cops that he was about to steal two laptops from Plaisio, the largest Greek computer retail chain and white-label "manufacturer" now spreading as a multinational corporation all over Balkans, and whose multiple high-rise buildings now lie in ruins as they were destroyed to the ground by massive fires during the December's Rebellion (and the upper middle class complains they have nowhere to buy tech stuff now). Other prisoners who have refused food in solidarity with Thodoris Iliopoulos include four prisoners charged with participation in the Marxist-influenced Revolutionary Organisation 17 November (RO 17N) as well as Nikos Kountardas (who is detained in the same prison buildings as the 17N prisoners), an individualist anarchist who has also been a detainee and hunger striker again before and had the support of a significant section of the Greek anarchist scene, and with its support he finally forced the state to release him, but immediately after his release he went to the police headquarters saying that he was the one who killed a policeman a few years ago and took his gun, while he wrote a letter to the anarchists who offered him their solidarity explaining that he put a lot of thought into his decision, that even though he earned his release he was nevertheless the the victim of state's victory albeit he managed to remain at large for five years, that he knows that some people may not understand his political move (explaining he would carry on his struggle from prison from now on), and referring to the death of a comrade of his while denouncing his family's lifestyle.

In the meantime, suspicious wildfires destroyed the last forests around Athens exactly where a waste facility is about to be built, in perfect timing to draw the lower middle class' attention away from news about hunger strikers, the worsening economic climate, and the new taxes that are about to take effect soon. "Strangely" the fire managed to burn all trees but without affecting the rich villas in Athens northern suburbs, even the ones built inside the forest, while other low-class buildings were burned to the ground. Companies with dubious legal representation but with suspected political links have already started advertising on the Internet "new luxurious villas" on the burned land.

The class war and the war against all authority continues...

@

Comments

Display the following 2 comments

  1. Theodore Iliopoulos - a greek tragedy — c.alexacos
  2. here we go again — anon
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