Nikos Romanos – Page 2

Athens, Greece: Letter from anarchist comrade Nikos Romanos from Korydallos Prison

Posted on 2024/12/05 by darknights

Monday, November 18, was the day when time stopped for me once again. Hooded anti-terrorism officers, handcuffs, holding cells, television cameras, news bulletins, journalistic scripts, police theories. Behind this familiar pattern and the communicative storm of guilt, there is another reality.

They are the wounds that resurface and multiply, shattering families, destroying human relationships, annihilating dreams, hopes, plans of a life condemned once again to the death of frozen time.

Because the language of truth cannot be hidden, I repeat, I deny the indictment in its entirety. An unfounded, baseless, exaggerated, and unsubstantiated indictment that arises abusively, creating more questions than it actually answers. Following the established political logic of the anti-terrorism law, which creates a category of defendants that exists outside the legal system, since everyone is guilty until proven innocent. The language spoken by the system has already issued its verdict. I became a wandering trophy for all kinds of exploitation. An exhibit in the showcases of the museums of lies and oblivion. With the label of “terrorist” hanging on the annex “guilty of all times,” for observation by usually naive, but mainly scared and peace-loving visitors.

For those who gamble with human lives in the dice of a vulgar and shameless political game, for those who believe that the power they hold gives them the ability to crush souls for their own reasons, I will reiterate the obvious.

From the bloodied pedestrian street of Messolonghi, the interrogation offices, the gray corridors of the prisons, the court benches, the slow death of confinement. From the choices I made with all my soul, choices etched in real blood, at great cost and with unyielding knees, I do not yield an inch.

It is part of the history of a generation of people who revolted and on whose backs, large parts of the political system washed away its sins by hanging it out to dry on the lines of repressive and media cannibalism.

But now I am not in prison because I made conscious choices that carried corresponding risks. On the contrary, my life is sold as a political product, on the shelf of the communication supermarket, with the price of the bag charged to me, waiting for prospective voters to shop piece by piece until the next time.

It is truly sad for me (and not just me) that I will be called upon to prove that I am not an elephant, having an impending sentence hanging over my head that will condemn me to live again, for an indefinite period, as a prisoner.

I have lived half of my adult life in prison. I will not passively accept this such an unfair statistic, consisting of much pain and countless loneliness, to cover me in concrete and bars.

I will not accept extreme measures like pre-trial detention without a legal and political battle to win back my life.

In this hasty and necessary initial statement, I want to thank from the depths of my heart those who stood by me with selfless love. The fight for my vindication and my definitive release from this unjust indictment now begins.

In conclusion…

Honor to those who in their lives have appointed and guard the Thermopylae. Never moving from duty; just and upright in all their actions, but with sorrow and compassion; brave when they are rich, and when they are poor, still somewhat brave, again assisting as much as they can; always speaking the truth, but without hatred for the liars. And more honor is due to them when they foresee (and many foresee) that the Ephialtes will appear in the end, and the Medes will finally cross.

Constantine Cavafy

Source: athens.indymedia

Rome, Italy: Incendiary attack against Italferr, militarism, and nationalism.

Posted on 2024/12/04 by darknights

Rome, November 28, 2024 – Incendiary attack against Italferr, militarism, and nationalism

We live in times of integration, where the boundaries that usually divided the various domains of control are disappearing. We are in the era of cybernetics, of biotechnologies applied to the body, of transhumanism through which the machine continues its war against the living, trying to integrate with the biological.

These are also the times of actual war, times in which the private sector increasingly supports the public sector in establishing and pursuing the strategic objectives of the State. Capital has entered a new phase of competition, the surplus is struggling to find outlets, and the balance of power between capitalist blocs and their respective areas of influence is being redefined. And war is always a good business.

On April 15, Leonardo, the most important Italian defense and technology company and one of the largest in the world by revenue, controlled by the Ministry, signed an agreement to this effect with RFI, part of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane group, also controlled by the Ministry of Finance. This agreement falls within the scope of the implementation of war logistics required by the changing global geopolitical landscape. The war in Ukraine, along with a broader redefinition of the balance of power between capitalist blocs, is rapidly bringing the military sphere back to the forefront of state concerns. The arms race is already underway (+93% increase in arms imports in 2023), military production is becoming the new driver for the struggling economy, and the entire military machinery must be updated and greased in anticipation of upcoming conflicts.

The agreement aims to “ensure the movement of military resources, within and outside Europe” even “on short notice and on a large scale,” as stated in the announcement of the agreement. It operates within the framework of “Military Mobility, an EU initiative aimed at enhancing existing infrastructural and digital capabilities.” The declared purpose is to create the so-called “military Schengen,” the integration of the individual states’ infrastructure network to allow the rapid and efficient movement of military equipment within Europe. This plan, voted on in 2018 by the Commission, is the only one in the defense sector to have received the approval of all member states. It commits them to “simplify and standardize cross-border military transport procedures” and to “allow the free movement of military personnel and equipment within the EU’s borders” (from the official PESCO website, an initiative of the European Union within the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy aimed at the structural integration of armed forces). Note that this project was proposed by the commander of the United States Army in Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, highlighting Europe’s subservience to the will of U.S. imperialism. While Europe is increasingly fortifying its borders, and the “free movement of goods and people” becomes a memory, victim as it is of the whims of individual rulers ready to suspend it at the first sign of new “emergencies,” efforts are being made to facilitate the “free” movement of military units and resources through the removal of bureaucratic barriers and the improvement of infrastructure.

Specifically, in this agreement, Leonardo will provide “its expertise and support of advanced A.I. techniques on multiple fronts: census and monitoring of dual-use infrastructures, modeling of infrastructures and articulated services, simulation and optimization of complex networks,” while RFI will provide the physical infrastructure, its management and maintenance, considering that it consists of a communication network that runs alongside the tracks and traverses many vectors across the Italian peninsula. It therefore seems that the main application of this agreement is to provide the company that owns the HPC (High Performance Computing) Davinci-1, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world in the aerospace, defense, and security sectors, “a secure and interoperable communication infrastructure with the different types of networks (TETRA, LTE, 4G/5G), to ensure high levels of service and security.””What is emerging, in simpler terms, is the transition of an infrastructure primarily designed for civilian use to one of the strongest defense industries in Italy and the world.” Continue reading “Rome, Italy: Incendiary attack against Italferr, militarism, and nationalism.” →

Toulouse, France: Solidarity fire with Kyriakos Ximitiris and the prosecuted anarchists after the explosion in the apartment in Ampelokipi

Posted on 2024/12/04 - 2024/12/04 by darknights

In response to the call from the “assembly of solidarity with the imprisoned, fugitive and persecuted fighters” in Athens, on the night of November 17 to 18, 2024, a fire was set to an MT Energies vehicle, a photovoltaic solar panel company. (mtenergiefrance.com).

Whether in France, Greece, or elsewhere, green capitalism allows civilization to consume ever more resources, territories, and lives. Let’s burn it.
Without sharing the revolutionary ideas of Kyriakos Ximitiris and part of his entourage, the hatred against what oppresses us is shared.

Solidarity with Marianna, Dimitra, and Nikos Romanos! Strength to you

Kyriakos Ximitiris, may your fire always burn.

Source: lille.indymedia

Indonesia: Burning of campus building in East Java in solidarity with Nikos Romanos and all anarchist prisoners

Posted on 2024/12/04 by darknights

Note: english translation is only a part of the whole communique

“A few days ago, precisely on November 22nd. I personally, who am not affiliated with any affinities, would like to give a communique.

That there was a burning of a building at one of the leading campuses on the south coast of East Java. I want to claim that the action was my doing.

What I did was purely solidarity with distant friends who have never met face to face. Especially to Nikos Romanos, Der Enzig and all the other anarchist prisoners. This is total revenge on the ward that gave birth to the disaster, namely the campus. I am isolated and not caught.

The nonsense of academics and activists does not end our suffering.

The campus and all its cronies did not provide the correct results of the crime scene investigation other than electrical short circuits and cigarette butts. But as an individualist I claim it is my action. With a little spark everything can burn.”

——–

Beberapa hari lalu, tepatnya pada tgl 22 November. Saya secara pribadi yang tak tergabung dengan affinitas mana pun, ingin memberikan komunike.

Bahwa terdapat pembakaran gedung di salah satu kampus terkemuka di pesisir selatan JATIM. Saya ingin mengklaim bahwa aksi tersebut merupakan ulah saya.

Kegetiran terhadap dunia Yang semakin carut marut dan mengalami distopia total. Saya sadar bahwa tempat ini merupakan bangsal yang melahirkan monster penghancur apa pun yang ada di muka bumi ini. Selain kekesalan. Apa yang saya lakukan adalah murni solidaritas pada kawan jauh yang tak pernah saling tatap muka secara langsungnya. Terkhusus kepada Nikos Romanos, Der Enzig dan semua tahanan anarkis lainnya. Ini adalah pembalasan total kepada bangsal yang melahirkan bencana yaitu kampus.

Saya terisolir dan tak terjaring.

Omong kosong akademis dan para aktivis tak membuat kita selesai pada penderitaan ini.

Pihak kampus dan segala kroninya tak memberikan hasil olah TKP yang benar selain konsleting listrik dan puntung rokok. Tapi saya sebagai seorang individualis saya mengklaim itu adalah aksi saya. Dengan sedikit percikan api semua bisa terbakar.

FIRE TO THE PRISON! BURN CIVILIZATION!

Realities Behind the Arrest of Nikos Romanos

Posted on 2024/11/27 by darknights

This is an attempt to provide information and context for those outside Greece concerning the recent state abduction of anarchist Nikos Romanos.

On 31 October, 2024, an explosion in the Athens neighborhood of Ampelokopoi killed the comrade Kyriakos X and severely injured the comrade Marianna M.

They were both in an apartment where an explosive device detonated, knocking out one wall of the building. The state claims they were planning to detonate a bomb elsewhere and that it exploded prematurely. Both Kyriakos and Marianna are anarchists, respected participants in the movement.

The press in Greece is owned by a handful of old families who control most of the remaining greek assets– those that haven’t been sold off to foreign investors. The Greek mainstream media exists to disseminate state narratives, and it immediately began slandering the victims of the explosion as well as engaging in wild speculation– such as that the israeli embassy was the intended target. Whether or not that’s true, it is true that israeli mossad agents came to assist the Greek police in their investigations. Since the explosion, the state has made additional arrests of people it claims are somehow connected to the apartment and its lease, sublease, etc.

As the Greek press promoted the propaganda of the state, there commenced activity in some cowardly corners of the left to distinguish the more “guilty” of those accused from the others. This is the question of who to tar with the labels of “anarchist” and “terrorist” — thereby assumed to deserve repression– vs. who is really “innocent.”

The anarchist movement itself, both in Greece and internationally, has rejected such division and remained strong in solidarity despite a chilling increase in repression. There were multiple support gatherings outside the hospital where Marianna was held under guard and when, shortly after her second surgery, she was transferred to Korydallos prison, comrades also gathered there. Kyriakos has been honored with actions, banners, marches, events and memorials, and will remain a beloved comrade forevermore. There has been no “disavowal,” no step back.

Since the tragedy in Ampelokopoi state repression against those suspected of being “anarchists” has become more aggressive, although this is consistent with an ongoing trend since the pandemic. What we have seen now are not new tactics but an increase in frequency: police actions such as stopping and searching people around the neighborhood Exarcheia, early-morning “preventative detention” of targeted individuals (people considered politically prominent) on the days of demonstrations and marches, and an increase in surveillance of those the greek state has a grudge against, including by parking unmarked cars with surveillance equipment in front of their homes.

Few people in the anarchist movement here have been under as heavy surveillance, long-term, as the comrade Nikos Romanos. He was a friend of the anarchist Alexis Grigoropolous, and witnessed Alexis’ murder by police on 6 December 2008. Since that time Nikos has been arrested many times and accused of many crimes, along with false accusations of involvement with the direct action group Conspiracy of Cells of Fire. Continue reading “Realities Behind the Arrest of Nikos Romanos” →

UK: From London to Athens Solidarity to the Political Prisoners Marianna, Dimitra, Dimitris, Hands Off Romanos, Fallen Anarchist Kyriakos Forever Alive

Posted on 2024/11/22 - 2024/11/22 by darknights

SOLIDARITY FROM LONDON

On October 31, anarchist comrade Kyriakos X. is killed by a bomb explosion while handling it in an apartment in Athens. The explosion seriously injures anarchist comrade Marianna M., who, along with other anarchist comrades, faces prosecution under charges of forming and participating in a terrorist organization.

On November 18, comrade Nikos Romanos is also arrested in connection with the same events. Nikos Romanos held his friend and comrade Alexis Grigoropoulos in his arms as he took his final breath on December 6, 2008, assassinated by the bullet of a special state officer.

In the years that followed, the Greek anti-terrorist agency repeatedly targeted Nikos and other anarchists, imprisoning them with fabricated evidence in an effort to suppress the blooming anti-authoritarian social movements. Nikos Romanos spent years as a political prisoner, held hostage by the state, before being released in recent years.

NO ONE ALONE / NO ONE IN THE HANDS OF THE STATE

THE REBELLION OF THE EXPLOITED IS NEVER TERRORISM

FROM LONDON TO ATHENS, SOLIDARITY TO NIKOS, MARIANNA, DIMITRA, DIMITRIS AND ALL OTHER PRISONERS OF THE STATE AROUND THE WORLD

FALLEN ANARCHIST KYRIAKOS LIVES FOREVER IN OUR STRUGGLES

[URGENT] Athens, Greece: Anarchist Comrade Nikos Romanos arrested by anti-terrorist cops

Posted on 2024/11/18 - 2024/11/21 by darknights

Word comes to us from comrades in Greece that anarchist comrade Nikos Romanos has been arrested by anti-terrorist cops during an operation today in Athens and has been taken to the GADA (Athens Central Police Headquarters). All we know so far is that he has been arrested in connection with the same case involving the explosion at an apartment in the neighborhood of Ampelokipoi in Athens on 31st October.

Strength and complicity comrade, you will not be left alone!

DN Collective

[URGENT] Call for a solidarity gathering at GADA, 9pm

We are calling for a solidarity gathering with the 31-year-old detainee today at 9 PM, at GADA.

NO ONE ALONE/NO ONE IN THE HANDS OF THE STATE

SOLIDARITY WITH THE IMPRISONED COMRADES MARIANNA, DIMITRA, AND DIMITRIS

KYRIAKOS XYMITIRIS ONE OF US A COMRADE FOREVER ON THE STREETS OF FIRE

SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON

Assembly of Solidarity with imprisoned, fugitive, and persecuted fighters

Source: athens.indymedia

Italy: Juan Sorroche – ‘Reflection on the General Context of the Causes of the Struggle’

Posted on 2024/05/03 by darknights

Regarding my convictions and trial charges and the nexus of non-systemic revolutionary struggle action practices and “my” meaning of the anarchist vision

“(…) The reality is precisely this complex thing that cannot be traced back to the results of a judicial proceeding. This will always be arbitrary and will be based not on evidence but on force, not on logic but on domination. Difficult reasoning? Maybe so, but reasoning that once done can never be forgotten” [Published with the title “Noterelle su Sacco e Vanzetti. In margine a un convegno di studi”, in “Anarchismo”, n. 63, July 1989, pp. 36-40].
Alfredo Maria Bonanno, A mano armata, Pensiero e azione, Edizioni Anarchismo

In remembrance, and a warm greeting and see you soon comrade Alfredo!

Note:

To facilitate the writing of the text, I chose to use mainly the masculine as a gender ending. Aware of the importance of rejecting and countering gender abuses (as of any kind), I trust in the reader’s understanding so that no one feels discriminated against.

Premise:

Hello to all, compañeras and to all, compañeros

I am Juan Sorroche, an anarchist prisoner arrested on May 22, 2019 and I write from the AS2 section of the Terni prison where I have been locked up for 5 years.

After my heavy sentence on January 26, 2024 in Rome in the Court of Cassation trial for the action against the Lega Nord, a party that was and is part of the government of the Italian State, a strongly racist, misogynistic and xenophobic party.

As an anarchist prisoner I would like to make clear to comrades, revolutionaries, outcasts and oppressed the connection of the causes of the struggle for which I am here in prison today as an anarchist prisoner.

In the first instance, even though the prosecutor had removed the charge of “political massacre” (285), I was sentenced to 28 years in prison plus 3 years of probation. On appeal, almost half of the sentence, I was sentenced to 14 years and 7 months. A few days ago, the Court of Cassation definitively sentenced me to 14 years and 7 months, a significant and exemplary sentence for the attack.

In the first instance, I want to say that I entered prison already having spent a cumulative period of about 8 years behind bars for my struggles in Italy, which is why I escaped into hiding in 2016 to continue living-fighting. Of these 8 years, 4 years are for the “NO TAV trial”. Subsequently, the other 4 years were different trials related to anti-prison and anti-CPR struggles, anti-fascist and anti-democratic struggles, struggles against technologies, GMOs, “environmentalists”, in which I took part, always trying to include the anti-state and anti-capitalist aspect of anarchism in Trentino as well as in different Italian situations. Including the Susa Valley, a path that I had taken in the past years in the NO TAV struggle against one of the projects of capital and the State and the devastating tentacle of the high-speed train. I was arrested, among many others, for the days of struggle and violent clashes of July 3, 2011. During the trial and during my imprisonment at the time, I claimed with a personal statement those days of struggle and the paths of opposition to the TAV and more generally the anti-state and anti-capitalist aspect. I refused the defense in the “NOTAV Trial”, positioning myself anti-juridically even trying to fight in court by refusing the trial, believing that I should not “defend” myself in that judicial theater, and for this I was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months. And I take those decisions with my head held high.

In May 2019, after 2 and a half years on the run, I was arrested together with another comrade accused of having supported my being on the run, and then the comrade was sentenced for aiding and abetting to a year and a half, a sentence that was significant and exemplary as we had not seen each other for years, and it gave us a hint of the new tenor of the trials to come.

When I was arrested, little by little, I became aware of a series of investigations and trials that see me accused of several attacks (with terrorist aims) in Italy:

– the bombs at the headquarters of the Lega Nord in Treviso for the attack of 12/08/2018, regarding the two explosive devices, one exploded and another full of nails discovered by the bomb squad in the form of a trap to carry out the components of the building and the police; these were placed in the headquarters of the Lega Nord in Treviso and were claimed with the claim:

“Let’s hit them at home!!!: (…) to specifically attack racism and exploitation. To strike at the state, capital and its perpetrators. Direct action makes it clear to us why and how. For an internationalist, rebellious, and anarchist solidarity! Solidarity with all prisoners (…). And to all the rebels locked up in the homeland prisons of the world!”
Haris Hatzimihelakis Cell/Black International 1881/2018

– the bomb at the Surveillance Court of Trento 2014. Sentenced in the first instance to 3 years and 2 months, then acquitted on appeal, I must soon go to the Supreme Court. Claimed anonymously: in solidarity and to give voice to the prisoners who struggle with dignity in all prisons and to the anarchist comrades who were in prison isolated in AS2 in Italy and other anarchist prisoners in the world.

– the bomb against the POL GAI (police academy) claimed by cell H, I report some sketches of the published claim:

“(…) as a cell H (C.A.A.) akin to the Black International and we join the call to action for a BLACK DECEMBER. We attacked one of the armed arms of the state. In this “school” cops from all over Italy and other countries are educated. This is a small signal against war. We stand in solidarity with all the people who are fighting against all states and capital. Our thoughts go out to the many comrades who have been repressed, locked up, tortured, or killed in the present and in the past. In solidarity with all the detainees who are struggling.”

This is in the context of the campaign launched by anarchist prisoners in Greece for a Black December, called international in the context of anarchist action in 2015.

A trial that I will begin shortly.

To date, I have accumulated 23 years in prison.

Actions that I agree with because for me they are part of the history of our movement of struggle in non-systemic revolutionary anarchism of action and of the struggle for freedom of all the oppressed in the world. Regardless of whether or not I am responsible for these facts. And I am determined to move forward in my anarchist life in order to live-fight within my limited possibilities as a prisoner. Continue reading “Italy: Juan Sorroche – ‘Reflection on the General Context of the Causes of the Struggle’” →

Athens, Greece: Anarchist comrade Nikos Romanos denounces deep parastate with far-right tendencies

Posted on 2022/06/23 - 2022/06/23 by darknights

Our anarchist comrade Nikos Romanos releases a text denouncing the parastate and fascist actions of the Greek cops inflicted upon him, his family, friends and comrades. The comrade has been under surveillance on and off since his release three years ago by the fascist scum of the Anti-Terrorist Unit, which has now hit a new level since the beginning of the hunger strike by his friend and anarchist comrade Giannis Michailidis, who has been subject to further imprisonment despite serving the required amount of time that would trigger his release.

The repression our comrade is facing should be considered and analysed within the international context of repressive tactics by states against those who dare to fight back without fear. With the current international environment, such as the war in Ukraine, the impending economical crisis threatening on the horizon, technological developments, the repressive apparatus of all states is entering a new stage to counter the struggles that are coming.

Nothing is over, the conflict continues…

Without further hesitance, we let our comrade’s words speak for themself:

The events that I am about to recount took place on Monday 20/6 in the afternoon outside my friend’s house in the centre of Athens. They concern yet another incident where police surveillance by the anti-terrorist police crosses the boundaries and red lines that exist and defines the peculiar relationship between a secret service and its potential target victims.

So let’s get to the facts. The hunger strike of our friend and comrade Giannis Michailidis, who is fighting against the arbitrariness and methods of the bourgeois justice system by putting his body in a barricade, has been going on for the last period of time. He is in a regime of preventive detention because while he has served the sentence imposed on him, the judicial councils, acting as thought police, reject his requests for release, foreseeing his future behaviour as other Pythias*. In essence, they are punishing him not for what he has done and for which, according to their laws, he has served his sentence, but for what they think he will do, based on interpretations that have nothing to do with reality.

During this period, the surveillance of the anti-terrorist police against me has become a daily occurrence, while their presence outside my family’s house has become daily and provocative, with large groups of anti-terrorist police officers defiantly rushing around in their vehicles. This event was interrupted following an engagement with these police officers on Saturday 18/6, where it was emphatically stressed to them that their defiance must end and that their continued presence there would not be accepted. Which was accepted and they ceased their defiant presence, so there is no point in me expanding on evidence that exists and will not be published unless there is a substantial reason. Continue reading “Athens, Greece: Anarchist comrade Nikos Romanos denounces deep parastate with far-right tendencies” →

Greece: Giannis Michailidis – Announcement of a hunger strike for my release GR, EN, DE, IT, FR, ES

Posted on 2022/06/02 - 2022/08/03 by darknights

GR: Γιάννης Μιχαηλίδης: Ανακοίνωση έναρξης απεργίας πείνας με στόχο την αποφυλάκιση μου

After 8.5 years in prison, after all these arbitrary actions against me, I decided to put an end to my 11 years of suffering, by putting a stop to the practice of pre-trial detention, or the additional punishment of escape through legal loopholes. After 5 more months of pre-trial detention, I start a hunger strike for my release. This choice, with the deep motivation of the much desired freedom, I intend to support it with the same consistency that I have supported my choices so far and for which I am being persecuted.

“Woe to those who will accept prison as a condition of life, and from the brightest sunlight, the smallest ray” – The rallying cry of the Alikarnassos prison uprising

For 11 years I have experienced state vengeance against choices in line with my values and ideas. The difficult journey, from which I choose to share some blatant vengeful acts of arbitrariness against me, began in the distant 2011, when an arrest warrant was issued against me for the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire case, for which I was eventually acquitted as there was not the slightest connection between me and the charge against me. It was the incrimination of a relationship of solidarity with wanted anarchists that put me in their place when they were arrested.

After 2 years of being on the run, I too am now walking through the heavy doors of prison, as the existence of a warrant that entails a decade of incarceration has led to certain choices and consequent mistakes. The comrades who were arrested at the time in the bank robbery in Velvento, Kozani, were tortured by the police, which is common, and then the Ministry of Public Order published photos of our swollen faces, provoking a public reaction. Of course, no police officer was accused of this by the blind Greek justice system. Continue reading “Greece: Giannis Michailidis – Announcement of a hunger strike for my release GR, EN, DE, IT, FR, ES” →