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Basque Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike

Prisoner Solidarity Always | 20.11.2013 18:35 | Repression | Social Struggles

On the 28th of October 2013, 11 of the 13 Basque Political Prisoners who
are in Sevilla’s prison started a hunger strike to fight for their rights.

The other two Basque prisoners join the fight but they are not doing the
hunger strike because of health problems. Some of the prisoners in this
prison joined the fight for the same reasons and to show their solidarity.
In another prison, Osny, people are starting fast shifts in solidarity
with those prisoners. Outside there are different initiatives denouncing
the situation of the Basque Prisoners. Stop the dispersion policy! Smash
the prisons! Until all are free!

“The fight has begun. The aim of this text is to communicate to the whole
Basque Country the reasons of our hunger strike.

The first Basque political prisoners were brought to this prison 4 years
ago. Since then all of us have been confined to special isolation cells.
We don’t have any physical activity during only 4 hours of yard time that
they give us. We are only allowed to enter the yard in threes either in
the mornings or the afternoons. That means we can go out every two days,
so we have to spend 26 hours straight in our respective cells. When we
enter the yard we are bound to pass through the metal detector and we are
frisked throughout the body even testicles, creating moments of stress.
The jailers work with every impunity and we are suffering all kind of
punishments (separated from our friends, complete solitude, solitary
confinement…) Threats and insults, to be handcuffed to the bed, even
severe beatings are the treatment here. So far, two political prisoners
have suffered severe beatings. The first was a member of Grapo on 14th of
November 2010; and on the 25 of March 2013 the Basque political prisoner
Arkaitz Bellon took the second beating.

After face-to-face visits we are totally frisked, even obliged to
undress integrally. Our relatives also have been frisked before either
visit and so we’ve lost some visits with them. We are not allowed to make
our once-a-week appointment with the doctor. We don’t know when is the
doctor coming and is common to not be able to have medical attention in 2
or 3 weeks. Some comrades suffer different chronic diseases, so they don’t
have the health care they need. It’s hard to believe that the violation of
our rights, day-by-day abuses… have been protected, rise and promoted by
the security assistant management. All of this is a constant provocation.
We have been meeting several times with the management as well as sending
“complaints and allegations” letters to the judge and General Secretariat
of prison trying to improve this situation, but we haven’t had any answer.
At the end, our only alternative has been fighting. Our aim is to achieve
a decent life and ensure access to health care to all of us. We need to
end the unlimited isolation, to keep all mates and comrades together,
guarantee our minimum rights and the suspension of all attacks against us.

Those were the claims of the Basque Political Prisoners Collective. Those
problems will finish with the end of the dispersion policy are suffering
the Basque Prisoners. We need the support of the people with this fight,
and that’s why we call you to join us. Only together we can achieve our
goals. Now is the time!

Basque Political Prisoners have amnesty in the way, back to The Basque
Country!

Basque Political Prisoners in Sevilla.”

Prisoner Solidarity Always

Comments

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Why so coy?

20.11.2013 19:01

Do tell us the names of these prisoners, so we can google them and find out what terrorist crimes they have been convicted of.

Convicted terrorists watch