Simon Chapman Letter

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Simon here. Sorry it all went quiet after our release: we needed a bit of time to sort ourselves out, medically and mentally. The situation at the moment is as follows:

Myself, Fernando and Carlos are required to stay in Greece until thetrial. The three other greek men have returned to live with their families. Kastro is still in Greece too. As far as I know there have been no medical problems for any of the hunger strikers.

We have had no news about when the court date could be. There will be a general election in Greece on March 7th, and so it is unlikely there will be any announcement on a possible court date before then. And then there is the Olympics in Athens... so as you can imagine
the authorities have other things on their mind at the moment.

It is entirely possible we will be forced to remain in Greece until the trial date, which could be this time next year. We will make further applications to leave Greece until the trial, but our hopes are not high at the moment. I had made repeated attempt to gain permission to leave the country to see my dad (who was seriously ill with leukemia) before
Christmas, but the court in Thessaloniki was not interested. They waited until he died just before New Year, and THEN allowed me to go home to attend the funeral for fifteen days. I did this and duly returned.

The funds that have been raised by everyone's hard work so far are being held onto to cover the substantial legal costs for when the total of 29 people charged as a result of the Thessaloniki events finally come to trial. While the lawyers are working for free,
making applications to the courts requires fees to be paid to the judiciary.

So while we're here we are visiting groups that supported us throughout
the imprisonment, and trying to make the best of a bad situation. We are staying with
supporters, and I'm looking for work. But my Greek is very poor (OK, I'm trying!) so its not easy to find anything. Its tough enough for Greek people!

Recently a few of the 7 attended a trial of two comrades in Katerini (who were unanimously
acquitted) to gain experience of the legal process in action. (Its pretty similar to the UK, really, but with a bit more shouting).

We really appreciate everything that everyone has done and continue to do. I stay in touch with what is happening in the UK though indymedia, and there are so many great people here to help us.

Thanks again.


Simon C