laatste nieuws uit straatsburg/no border
legal team strasbourg - 17.09.2002 11:08
Laatste nieuws over de rechtszaken en nog steeds voortdurende repressie in Frankrijk naar aanleiding van het Europese No Border kamp in Straatsburg afgelopen zomer (in het Engels) + call for action
Last news on courtcases and repression as a result of the No Bordercamp in Strassbourg last summer + call for action
Ahmed Meguini, co-founder of the Spontaneous Movement,
which was created after the primary presidential
elections in France, and participant of the
No Border Camp in Strabourg, was arrested on July 24
2002 during a demonstration in support of the
Sans-Papier, for the closing of all detention centers,
and for the freedoms of movement and of residence.
He is currently incarcerated, condemned the 21 augusts
2002 to eight months in prison with a parole hearing
after three months, and more than 700 Euros in fines,
on charges of insulting a police officer and assault
on a police officer, despite multiple inconsistencies
in the accusation and procedural errors.
Since his arrival in the Elsau prison in Strasbourg,
he was placed in solitary confinement and refused all
visits. He did not leave this total isolation for 38
days. For a month and a half, he was denied all
visitation rights. Only very recently was he allowed
to receive a visit from his mother (recently arrived
in Strasbourg). His girlfriend has still not been
allowed to see him.
This white torture, which has been denounced by the
International Prison Observation Project, continues
because Ahmed is still singled out for particular
abuse. He has been placed in a special section,
isolated from the rest of the prisoners...
The repressive persecution continues, after a police
prohibition against all forms of protest or public
discourse from the No Border Camp during the second
half of the Camp; a steady stream of arrests (at least twenty)
during the camp; several injured from rubber
bullets, massive use of gas, and police batons, as
well as mistreatment while in police custody; ten
trials still to come; and seventeen activists recently
taken to trial on charges of "hostage-taking," after a
peaceful occupation of the local office of the
Ministry of Justice.
The prosecutor has now decided to appeal Ahmed's
sentence, having requested eight months without
parole. The hearing will take place at the Appeals
Court of Colmar on October 8 2002, at 8:30 a.m. Ahmed
is now, once more, in pretrial preventative detention. So as
to avoid arriving in handcuffs in court, he has
requested the court's decision to deny him bail or
bond. The hearing will take place on september 17,
2002, at 8 a.m., in Colmar. Those who cannot come to Colmar are
asked to visit their nearest Ministry of Justice (if
in France) or their nearest French Consulate or
Embassy (if outside of France) to show their support
for Ahmed and for the NoBorder Camp.
We call all those involved to come en masse to Colmar
on that day, to protest against the repressive
treatment by the State against activists, and more
generally, against the atmospere of "total-security"
that aims to frighten and criminalize all attempts to
struggle against the established world order. The
"Terrorism Hunt" has become a very practical tool to
repress many different kinds of activists, to
extradite Italian activists who had traditionally been
given political asylum in France, such as Paolo
Persichetti, to prohibit Batsuna from entering
Spain... and so forth. We will not be terrorized.
Collective to support Ahmed.
 Website: http://www.noborder.org
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