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.

Martin Balluch’s Address to the Court

VGT | 12.07.2008 22:32 | Animal Liberation | Ecology | Repression | World

DDr. Martin Balluch’s Address to the Court at Remand Review Hearing
7th July 2008

Your Honour,

As my right as accused (§176 StPo) I would like to take this opportunity to make a statement. After all, this concerns two months of my life. Two months which, according to the Public Prosecution, I should spend in a cell. In the past seven weeks imprisonment I have had to share a cell with a violent offender, who after having been sentenced five times already, has now been sentenced to exactly two months for committing grievous bodily harm. So, the judgement to be passed today is of grave importance.

The Public Prosecution has read out a long and impressive list of offences. One might well be forgiven for thinking that almost every shop has had windows broken and shop floor areas stunk out with butanoic acid. However, had the Prosecution read out a list of all car accidents which have happened over the last years, one would get the impression that nearly everyone must have been involved in a road traffic accident. But, wait! It is only through a statistical analysis that we can really assess such a list objectively.

Fact is, compared to international figures, the number of crimes associated with animal welfare in Austria is incredibly small!
Even in countries where animal welfare is less established such as the Czech Republic, Mexico or Spain there are higher numbers of animal welfare motivated offences. This is the case even though statistically speaking, Austria is the most animal welfare active country in the world. In terms of animal welfare over 600 animal protection protests, over 150 animal protection actions and over 50 animal protection events every year have to be weighted against a handful of criminal cases related to animal protection.

From a sociological point of view the interesting question is actually why animal welfare motived offenses are so minimal in Austria?
And further: why in that case has this draconian police operation been carried out precisely here in Austria?

The Public Prosecution and the animal welfare Special Commission set up by the Ministry of the Interior have carried out investigations for the last two years. They were unable to solve a single case, despite the massive surveillance measures taken which included wire tapping, bugging of telephones and homes, police infiltration and spying. Instead of coming to the logical conclusion that they were obviously on the wrong track and that maybe those responsible for criminal activities could be individuals operating alone or in small autonomous groups that do not publicly engage in animal protection, as indeed stated in the police files, the authorities wade in with a massive assault.

The reason can be understood as follows: Public Prosecution and the Special Commission do not want to lose face and be seen as unsuccessful and incompetent. Therefore, it was decided to carry out massive raids necessitating huge numbers of specially trained police officers against Austria’s most active animal protectionists. And how were these measures justified? In the absence of any concrete suspicion a nebulous concept of a criminal organisation was construed. Because such an organisation needs to consist of 10 persons, 10 were randomly taken into custody. The fact that these people don’t know each other and are involved with groups which have had no contact to each other for years, indeed groups which more or less regard each other as enemies, was completely ignored.

It is also remarkable that the Public Prosecution and the police have both persistently refused to interview me or present any evidence against me, although my lawyer has been making these requests for weeks. What other conclusion is one to draw from this other than they have no questions and no evidence.

A few critical questions immediately show that the accusation of a large criminal organisation is untenable:
Why should those responsible for animal welfare motivated criminal activities be from a large organisation and not small autonomous groups? There is no evidence to support the existence of a large group. The real reason is that remand custody is only possible with the accusation of a large criminal organisation.

Why are exactly these offences listed by the Public Prosecution attributed to the criminal organisation and not more and not less? There is no criterion for this allocation. The list is random: not too short, in order to make the organisation appear sufficiently dangerous, and not too long, in case it would appear exaggerated and unbelievable.

Which persons are supposed to belong to this organisation and why? Again, no criteria are given. The 10 arrestees were chosen randomly, because a minimum of 10 suspects are needed for a criminal organisation; more than 10 would seem improbable. The fact alone that exactly 10 were picked out demonstrates the randomness behind this choice.

It is utterly shocking to see how the Public Prosecution and the Special Commission are prepared to stop at nothing in order to save face. Obviously these people are unaware of the consequences of their actions!

Countless people were assaulted in their own homes in the night by groups of armed, masked men. People, peacefully lying in their beds had spotlights shone into their faces and guns held at their heads. Of those affected by these attacks, some were people in the homes who had absolutely nothing to do with animal welfare, including a seven-year-old girl. All of the victims of this police assault have been severely traumatised.

The private sphere of countless people has been invaded, their personal spaces ransacked and their possessions pried into.
Ten people have been held for weeks, indeed months in tiny cells, robbed of their liberty. Unable to see the people and animals most dear to them, their entire lives have been put on hold. In addition the reputation of these people has been damaged beyond belief. From neighbours, work colleagues and acquaintances, to members of the animal protection organisations and the target groups of animal protection campaigns, all these people have been led to believe that there is the suspicion of criminal activity that does not exist.

This police action has also caused an immense amount of damage to property, for example, to computers and notebooks which, must now be replaced. The damage to property for the VGT probably amounts to hundreds of thousands of euros.

The psychological damage caused by the Public Prosecution and the Special Commission, either through gross negligence or intentionally, cannot be rectified. Countless people have been severely traumatised, their trust in the State destroyed. Their homes have been violated and they themselves, humiliated. In the future they will live in fear. Most will need psychotherapy.

Public Prosecution and the Special Commission have even fabricated evidence. They have invented a witness statement and fabricated a case of arson. Those responsible for these crimes must be held responsible!

For the future, I have one last question. Today’s hearing is not about guilt; it is solely about strong suspicion. When I am released, what should I do differently, according to the court, so that I will not be seen as suspicious, so that I will not to be put in remand detention?

- Do I have to change my ethos, even though the constitution guarantees that I will not be disadvantaged because of my ideology?

- Am I not permitted to carry out normal NGO work anymore, even though this work is accepted internationally and is not only necessary in a democracy, but also desired by a large majority of the Austrian population?

- Am I not permitted to organise conferences or hold meetings for (new) activists?
Or am I not permitted to write books anymore or to collect and archive the data necessary for that?

- If these questions cannot be answered clearly and satisfactorily, then how can my remand sentence be in accordance with the rule of law?

DDr. Martin Balluch



--------------
Appendix:

Analysis of the list of offences, which according to the Public Prosecution, are attributed to the allegedly existing criminal organisation.

At the remand review hearing on 6.6.08 the Prosecution read out a list of 33 offences. Five of these offences had to be immediately dropped because they are not covered by section 278a of the Criminal Code (criminal organisation):

1) Incident A-j was a classic run-in, which is a non-criminal act of civil disobedience, typical of NGO campaigning.
2) Incident B-a was a registered demonstration held in the presence of police: also fully legal.
3) Incident A-bb and A-ee concern the filming of the inside of a pig farm, accessed simply by walking through an open door without any damage to property, therefore also not a criminal act.
4) Incident A-y is, as detailed elsewehre, not a case of arson, but an incident involving the negligent installation and overseeing of a wood burning stove.
5) Incident A-dd concerns the puncturing of police car tyres and has no connection to animal welfare.

What remains are 22 incidents over a period of 6 years, with a total of damages amounting to certainly significantly less than 100, 000 euro. This works out at 3 incidents per year! These incidents can be categorised as follows:

7 butanoic acid stinkbombs
7 cases of broken windows
3 cases of sprayed graffiti / paint daubing
2 cases of damage to hunting platforms and to an empty, deserted pheasant enclosure.
2 animal rescues (pigs and pheasants) without any damage to property
1 threatening letter

Is it credible that within 6 years, with this level of activity the allegedly existing criminal organisation was able to exercise extensive influence over politics and the economy?
The sawing down of hunting platforms can in no way be construed as having influence over politics and the economy. Likewise the graffiti on the wall of a vivisector’s house. The 2 animal rescues are obviously attempts to directly help two individual creatures and therefore, also not attempts to exercise influence over politics and the economy. A remaining 17 incidents took place over a period of 6 years. Fifteen of these were against the owner of the clothing store Kleider Bauer, 1 against a fur shop and a threatening letter was to a company carrying out animal testing.

DDr. Balluch has no leading role in the Kleider Bauer campaign, nor is he significantly active against fur. No individual in Austria is either running a general campaign against animal testing nor one against the company which received the threatening letter, or any other particular company involved in animal testing.

There is no indication that the same group of people is responsible for these incidents. There have been no concrete reasons for suspicion of being responsible for these offences presented against any of the accused!

VGT
- Homepage: http://www.vgt.at

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. All the best... — WARN
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