Greek Prisons: 21 prisons on turmoil, 5600 prisoners on hunger strike, another 3000 on abstention from prison meals, 16 demands to be fulfilled and an International Call to Action.



“We have the right to fulfill our sentence as human beings. Even the unjust imprisoned mammals in the zoo gardens live in better conditions from us.”

That’s the words of a prisoner who describes in the best possible way the miserable and inhuman conditions of the modern Greek prisons. “Living” conditions which are the primary reason for the ongoing uprising in the majority of the Greek prisons. The prisoners’ struggle is our own struggle as well, and its target is the fulfillment of their demands for dignified living conditions.

A year ago when a number of prisons were in turmoil and a few of them in insurgency a series of demands were addressed by the prisoners. Since then none of those demands was ever discussed by the state. Facing the cruelty and the indifference of the state – and all of its parliamentary political parties – the prisoners instead of falling into hopelessness they chose to organize in the first time in the modern Greek history. They came together, they discussed and they announced publically a list of 16 demands. With the announcement of the 16 demands came a deadline as well.

A deadline towards the state and its guardians. A deadline which the state never took seriously and the demands were not even discussed. The end of the deadline was the 1st of November 2008 and as the indifference turned into arrogance and the cruelty into barbarism, the organized struggle of the prisoners began.





THE DEADLINE IS OVER! THE STRUGGLE BEGINS!

“It’s the first time that we are organized in such a degree. The procedure is political, meaning that it is all about the citizen with civil rights. The time is now! … The struggle has three steps. The abstention from the prison meal. The hunger strike. And finally the insurrection.”

Vaggelis Pallis, from the prison of Chios

So on the 3rd of November approximately 3000 prisoners refused to appear at the prison meals. The next three days the number of prisoners abstaining from the prison meals reached 8000 (at this moment the Greek prisons hold 14000 prisoners).

The solidarity movement was on the side of the prisoners from the first moment by organizing a series of mobilisations and direct actions. On the other side the state kept the same stance as before the 3rd of November with the only difference that a couple of politicians, among them the President of the Democracy, proposed the construction of new prisons as a solution. The mass media and especially the mainstream TV channels had completely concealed the whole situation.

As a result of the intolerant behavior of the state and the guilty silence of the mass media the prisoners entered the second phase of their struggle on the 7th of November.

So, 5600 prisoners began hunger strike in 21 prisons.

We have to mention here that the prison of Patras and the prison of Larisa began the hunger strike on the 5th of November as the prison canteens ran out of food on that date (the difference between the abstention from the prison meal and the hunger strike, is that on the first case they refuse to appear at the formal prison meal but they can buy snacks from the prison canteen). Furthermore in the prison of Trikala 17 Kurdish and 3 in Amfisa prisoners on hunger strike stitched their mouths by using needle and thread.

So, today (12/11/2008) there are 5600 hunger strikers, another 3000 on abstention from prison meals and many more prisoners who support the demands without taking part on the first two phases of the struggle.

Today, the 6th day of the hunger strike for the majority of the prisoners (for some of them is the 8th day), the prisoners send a public letter to the Ministry of Justice (protocol number 5419/12/11/08) in a last attempt to fulfill their demands now and thus avoid the third phase of the struggle which will cause a wave of violence inside and outside prisons.





We, the prisoners, are the only ones suitable to negotiate our demands and to administrate our struggle.

We believe that this will be respected by all.

Panhellenic Committee of Prisoners



To the Minister of Justice

12th of November 2008

Open letter

Mr. Minister,

We began a struggle as citizens so as to claim our rights. The participation of our inmates has surpassed not only every expectation but any previous struggle as well. We want to administrate our own struggle. We want to speak in the name of ourselves by using our own names. We propose a meeting of the Minister with the ELECTED PANHELLENIC COMMITTEE of the prisoners who express the entirety of prisoners and they are the real representatives of the prisoners. The meeting should take place inside the prison of Koridallos and we request the easing of the procedures in order to transport the individuals of the committee to Koridallos Prison.

The Panhellenic Committee of Prisoners is:

* Rantza Jabar of Hose (Prison of Trikala)

* Alexandras Kola (Prison of Trikala)

* Abdel Halim Fatah of Moameth (Prison of Trikala)

* Vaggelis Pallis (Prison of Chios)

* Karaboulea Dani of Nikolai (Prison of Corfu)







THE GREEK PRISON SYSTEM

“We thank you for your solidarity. We will achieve victory together. Our common struggle is the only way out of the dead-end that we reached in the modern hellish Greek Prisons, in these modern tortures, which instead of reforming they punish repeatedly, mainly through the miserable and inhuman conditions of the prisons, thus exterminating us psychologically and physically”

Giannis Makrygiannis, from the prison of Corfu

Greece has more than 28 prisons. Their infrastructure is of maximum capacity of 7500 inmates, but today their cells hold 14000 prisoners! Another 2500 to 3000 prisoners are packed inside the transfer detention centers (“metagogon” prisons) or even in the cells of the police headquarters. The prisoners usually are packed 4 or 5 of them in cells made for 1 individual.

The capacity problem of the greek prisons is not something new. But whenever someone was trying to address the problem, the state was proposing the construction of a new high security prison and the discussion was going around which is the best company to build it.

The solution is the exact opposite. As some of the 16 demands of the prisoners on struggle propose, the overcrowding problem could be solved if there will be: Abolition of the juvenile prisons (prisons for under 18-years-old individuals). A halt to the continuous imprisonment of drug addicted individuals, who are charged with the same laws as if there were drug lords. Abolition of the pre-trial detentions which last for up to 18 months. Transfer of the foreign prisoners to the prisons of their country if they wish so.

The big majority of the prisoners in the Greek Prisons are foreigners, drug-addicts, individuals with psychological dysfunctions, and “citizens” with financial problems who lack any income. All of them receive the label of the criminal, thus blaming them for the wrong-doings in society, and furthermore hiding the real and persistent criminals who operate under the protective cloak of authority, of money and of the state.

The Correctional System, as it is called in Greece, and especially its prisons, attempts to appear as an institution of reforming and correcting the law-breaking citizen, but whatever nice words and sweet deceptions are used by its representatives, the correctional system cannot hide its vengeful and inhuman nature.

THE PRISONERS DEMAND!

“We the prisoners of the hell called with an euphemism: prisons of the greek state, tired with the fake promisses of all justice ministers in the last 10 years, to ameliorate prison conditions and the penal code and the penal justice code, decided to move forcefully, in order to claim our rightful demands.

WE DEMAND:

1. Abolish disciplinary charges. Modify the Penitentiary Code's articles 68, 69, 70, 71. In any case, the disciplinary charges must be removed after the are served, and not accumulated nor taken into consideration when it comes to days off, work, education and discharge under conditions after they are served.
2. Reduction of the sentence limit for discharge under conditions, from 3/5 to the 3/7 of the sentence time. Immediate abolishment of the anti-constitutonal treaty that increased up to the 4/5 of crimes related to drugs.
3. Once and for all 3 year reduction of all prices, to make easier the relieve of over-crowding of prisons. NO to the new panoptic prisons, built isolated away from the cities social tissue.
4. Abolish the juuvenile prisons. Adopt open structure to take care of and protect the teenagers and youth.
5. Reduction of sentence limit of 25 years of continuous detention. Reduction of the minimum detention time to be discharged under conditions to 12 years from 16 that it is today, according to european legislature.
6. Immediate and without exceptions application of days-off, suspensions, and other benefits of the law, reduction of the minimal sentence time limits. Increase the number of days-off to 60 for those that have a right to 5 days and to 96 for those with a right to 8.
7. To end the over-use of pre-trial detentions and reduce the time limit to 12 months.
8. The para-justice racket is known for its hysteria of the last 8 years, leading to revengeful killing sentences. We as for proportionate sentences and wide application of the measure of suspension and discharge under conditions.
9. Full, permanent and 24 hour medical treatment and respect to the patients. Creation and improvement of adequate hygiene spaces (baths and toilets). Immediate integration of the Korydallos prison psychiatric and medical clinic to the National Health System, with new aisles for women and juveniles, that lack now. Immediate transportation of patients to public hospitals with ambulances and not in police vehicles, tied up with their hands behind their back.
10. To be provided the right in beneficial work payment, education, second chance schools, technical workshops and participation in diverse similar programms, to all prisoners proportionate and without any discrimination. To be given educational days-off, for all prisoners, that meet with the criteria and terms to study outside prison and for all levels of education and technical skills learning. Substancial amplification of withdrawal projects to all prisons.
11. Abolishion of the prison no-go zone. Free access for social and political institutions, Lawers Associations, Hellenic Medical Association and EINAP, organizations for human rights, NGOs and international organizations. Free circulation of political and educative press, with no exceptions.
12. Alternative forms of detention, amplification of agricultural prisons and of the institution of semi-free sentence as well as community service.
13. Amplification of the institution of free visits in humain conditions with respect to the personality and dignity of the prisoners and the visitors. Private place to meet with our companion.
14. Work and access to creative activities for all of us. Beneficial account of days of work in the sentence.
15. Right to selection of serving the sentence in their country of origin, for the prisoners from other countries, once and if they wish.
16. Humain transport conditions with improvement of the room in the preposterous transportation means of the greek police. More stops, improvement of the detention room in the miserable "Metagogon" transfer prison and faster transfer to the destination prisons.”



INTERNATIONAL CALL TO ACTION

The struggle of the prisoners for individual, social and political rights are without inter-mediums, without any guidance from any avant-gardes, and they will not be suppressed! This is a struggle for social liberation and emancipation. Their struggle is our struggle, and solidarity is our strongest weapon.

In order to stand by the side of the thousands of prisoners in struggle, in order to break the guilty silence of the mass media, in order to give a strong blow to one of the main state institution – the prisons – , we make a call for direct actions, mobilizations, protests and whatever is possible against Greek Embassies, Consulates and any Greek State interests abroad.

FROM THE 20TH OF NOVEMBER AND ONWARDS

WE CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTIONS IN SOLIDARITY TO THE THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS WHO STRUGGLE INSIDE THE GREEK PRISONS



THE PASSION FOR FREEDOM IS STRONGER FROM ANY PRISON!



DIRECT ACTION TODAY!

FOR A SOCIETY WITHOUT PRISONS TOMORROW!





Antiauthoritarian Movement (Assembly of Thessaloniki)

www.resistance2003.gr