Tag Archives: Hunger Strike

Letter from Anarchist Prisoner Toni Chavero on Rotating Hunger Strike in Spanish Prisons

 

A rotating hunger strike began this September in Spanish prisons to draw attention to the horrible situation in Spanish prisons, tortures, deaths, the basicly nonexistent medical attention, terrible food, bad communication inside/outside, isolation confinement for rebellious prisoners, etc. etc. There are thousands of denouncements of this situation in the offices of the European Union Tribunals, at least from the last 20 years. No one there cares about this nonexistent human rights in Spanish prisons! So the prisoners, with the support of solidarity groups from outside, try to continue the long tradition of struggles against this fascist prisoner system in Spain. So from last September 1st, a small group of prisoners started this rotative hungerstrike and Toni Chavero, an anarchist comrade, actually encaged in the prison of Estremera (Madrid) wrote this letter:

Letter from anarchist prisoner Toni Chavero about the rotating hunger strike in Spanish prisons

Bunker of Estremera (Prison Madrid VII)

5th September, 2019

Cheers, comrades, I am Toni Chavero. I hope that on the arrival of these letters you will find yourself with strength and courage. We need strength, determination and a firm position. I want to thank you, first of all, for joining these rotating hunger strikes. I have been on strike for five days today, but I didn’t even have to start it, the reprisals came earlier. I have been cut off from communications with three comrades for “reasons of security and good order of the establishment.” Since they lack the arguments or connections that lead to this intervention, they continue to violate our rights and freedoms through the nose, we will see what the court says. Although I know this goes on for a long time, I have set out to recover communications with my comrades.

The dentist and the oculist don’t even call me. Reprisals or a Hippocratic oath? Or hypocrite?

The objective of this strike is obvious and necessary: to demand the application of Articles 104.4 and 196 RP to the comrades with chronic diseases, their release without the fascist requirement of having to be in terminal phase, I mean, dead. We’re not gonna stand for this. At least they won’t shut us up. That’s clear to us. Continue reading


Sweden: Prisoner on hunger strike to the death

via 325

Long time civilian prisoner Natalia Pshenkina takes on struggle against the Swedish prison authorities with hungerstrike.

Natalia was sentenced for murder in 2005 and got in contact with political comrades in prison in 2011. She then contacted the current prisoner solidarity group Fånggruppen Syd – Prisoners group of southern sweden, for help with legal assistance. Natalias case has since been worked on as a civilan non-political side case on a personal level by individuals within the former group. Since 2018 Natalias case has more and more taken the form of organizing and fighting by juridical means for better conditions in the Swedish prison system. Natalia took this fight at the prison where she was earlier placed, KVA Ystad, in southern most of todays Sweden. The condition at KVA-Ystad has been growing worse for a long time by reasons such as over crowding and ending of all activities for prisoners due to severe lack of funding.

Because of Natalias struggle she was removed to high security prison Hinseberg in summer of 2019. There Natalia again took up the struggle and demanded better conditions for the prisoners. This was answered by utter silence by the authorities responsible for the complaints and demands by prisoners, as is the case in almost hundred percent of these requests.

Natalia was instead sent to a disciplinary facility and on from there to psychiatric prison, which sent her back. Since Monday September 9th Natalia is on total hunger strike,to the death, against the prison authorities at Hinseberg. She was last heard of on Sept 14th and then already after six days suffering from malnutrition and growing weariness. If more contact is possible with Natalia we will ask her to list the demands in her requests to JO which are the base for her hunger strike. As for the moment we don’t have these technical details. Natalias hunger strike is a fight against the prison authorities and an act of great solidarity also for other prisoners. Due to the sufferings she has takes for these desperate struggles, it is now high time to start counting Natalias case as a political struggle and support her as a prisoner after this measure. We thereby ask you to spread this message to trustworthy activists and group within the left wing groups and communities and to write to and support Natalia by letters or statements. We ask you to acknowledge that the Swedish prison system today stands as the worst example in western Europe after Italy and England. Political prisoners have been severely beaten and isolated for letters to them with political content. For prisoners classed as females, beatings are often precluded by stripping of the clothes with knife in front of male attendants and have been in severe cases been followed by being put naked in isolation cells for many days. Be careful what you write and be ready for the fact that Natalia may not anymore have the health to answer.

Our solidarity is now the only way that Natalia can pursue this struggle.

Members of prisoner solidarity groups in southern Sweden.

Natalia Pshenkina
Hinseberg 120
71892 Frövi
Sweden


Italy: Communique of Alfredo Cospito from the prison of Ferrara

via: actforfree
Alfredo, from the prison of Ferrara, asks for this short communiqué to be circulated, excusing himself for not having done so earlier but he was completely isolated in the hospital. He sends a hug to everyone.
Prison of Ferrara, 14/07/2019
“I give you the tragicomic news that after 5 hours’ operation my bloody gall bladder has abandoned us (July 8) due to the hunger strike. Excuse me but I still can’t answer your many letters decently. But count on my answers. The only positive thing is that I have lost 21 kg.
Keep on writing to me.
Sure that the struggle in solidarity with the comrades proceeds ever more effectively.”
Alfredo
———————————
Translated by Act for freedom now!
via:anarhija.info

Italy: Update on the Health Situation of Imprisoned Anarchist Comrade Alfredo Cospito

24.07.19: Comrade Alfredo Cospito started feeling unwell 15 days ago, right after his hunger strike ended. He immediately insisted on a CT scan. In fact, as soon as the CT scan was carried out, he was urgently transferred to the hospital where he was operated on. The operation went for 5 hours as they had to remove his gallbladder, which had ruptured. All this because the doctors had been saying for months that it was necessary to operate, but the prison kept postponing, trying to solve the problem with tablets, which in reality did not solve anything. The situation got worse with the hunger strike.
Alfredo’s family only learned of his transfer to hospital and the operation four days later. A week after the operation he was transferred back to prison. At visits he was very physically exhausted, in a wheelchair and very thin.
During his hospital stay he was placed in a room with an armored door, cameras and at least three guards at all times, with nothing – no books or a clock, losing track of time passing. After three days he managed to get some books he had back in the prison.
Three days ago a call from Alfredo’s lawyer informed his family that he had again been transferred to the hospital for intensive surgery. After leaving hospital the first time Alfredo developed an infection of the pancreas caused by a cyst that had started to spread. Now the situation is stable and improving. Alfredo is in good spirits.
This time the doctors have declared that they will not discharge him until he is completely healed.
It is clear that his return to prison after the first operation was hastened because the prison authorities consider him to be dangerous and they were paranoid about a possible escape attempt. So the doctors were pressured into releasing him early.
Now he has some books, but we are trying to make sure that he gets mail and a change of clothes at the hospital, he has been wearing the same clothes for days and he has had to wash them himself, keeping the drip on one arm and using his other arm to wash.
More updates soon.
(via Anarhija)

Canada, Hamilton : Anarchist Comrade Cedar Released from Prison

Anarchist comrade Cedar Hopperton has been released after spending nearly a month in jail for allegedly violating their parole conditions after giving a speech arguing that police should not be part of the queer community and applauding those at Pride who stood up to the police and fascists.

Despite the fact that they weren’t at Pride, Cedar spent weeks in jail in a clear case of retaliation by the Hamilton police against Cedar for expressing their anarchist convictions. Cedar went on hunger strike after their arrest, and the queer and anarchist communities of Hamilton mobilized in their support.

The Tower, an anarchist social space in Hamilton, posted on Facebook Tuesday that Cedar was free, along with a photo of Cedar holding a “Free Cedar” poster.

“The rumours are true, and this time it’s a good thing — Cedar is free!” The Tower said. “A statement with more details is forthcoming.”

Asaf Rashid, Cedar’s lawyer in the parole board challenge, confirmed that Cedar was released in relation to some credited time around their incarceration. Cedar was initially due to be released at the end of July.

The parole board dismissed the false claim by Hamilton police that Cedar was at Pride.

Cedar’s release is a victory for the anarchist movement in Hamilton and beyond and a defeat for the oppressive Hamilton police force.


Italy : Anna, Silvia, Nat – “A throw of the dice” – (Prison of L’Aquila)

via: actforfree

End of hunger strike communique

Life is a role of the dice with destiny wrote a poet, that we know anarchists like to play.
We have ended a first game. A month to see how the land lies and sniff out the boundaries of the cage, a month’s hunger strike to show that we are difficult material to box up.
On the thirtieth day we are interrupting with the intention of returning more strongly.
A first positive balance is in the immediate living, spontaneous solidarity inside and outside the prisons, which raised the problem loud and clear.
From inside: a month on strike also Marco and Alfredo in AS2 in Alessandria and Ferrara, joined by Natascia on her arrival in Rebibbia, who we continued with once she arrived here, then other comrades, Stecco, Ghespe, Giovanni, Madda, Paska and Leo.
Close by: we heard the beating on the bars from the female and male 41bis of l’Aquila, music that shatters the silence of this fortress which we have answered and will continue to answer as long as it lasts, in solidarity with all those who have been suffering this infamous regime on their own skins for years.
From outside: direct actions, informative incursions, disruptive actions around Italy and the world have amplified something that is not a game: anti-anarchist and not only prison differentiation, punitive circuits, refinement of repressive strategies. This is nothing we didn’t already know, we are aware that both inside and outside there are sparks everywhere ready to propagate, this gives us strength and determination.
It is just a beginning that we hope has been an injection of confidence in the potential and in the strength that we carry with us, inside and out.
L’Aquila, June 28 2019
Silvia, Natascia, Anna
Translated by Act for freedom now!
via: anarhija.info

Italy: Update on the Hunger Strike in the Prisons of L’Aquila and Alessandria (26th June, 2019)

via: actforfree

News from L’Aquila, June 26th:

Like every Wednesday, Silvia and Anna also held talks with external people today.
While Natascia moved there a week ago, she still has no chance to see anyone else but ‘advocate. She is subjected to censorship and has also withheld her trial papers. Even Silvia’s mail, in and out, continues to suffer slowdowns, and is partly withheld.
To date all three are still on hunger strike.
Who have seen the two comrades [Anna and Silvia] report having found them well, considering the fact that they reached the 29th day of the hunger strike. They accuse a physiological weakness that appears to be normal. With great strength of spirit today the companions refused the package, in which fruit had been put in the hypothesis that they had decided to stop the strike.
The initiatives put in place – even in the last few days – restored their strength. They confirm that the keystrokes from 41bis – lasting half an hour – continue, daily, and that they manage to participate, in response, for no more than ten minutes given the limited energy. They are pulling the rope in a situation that by day in day becomes more and more critical, and the absence of a response from the penitentiary institution, increasingly full of responsibility. The news of a visit to the prison on the same day by the national detainee guarantor, prompted by the gravity of situation, is reliable. The comrades are monitored by health personnel, but their request to allow a doctor to come in from outside the prison is still disregarded today.
Friday, June 28, will be the next opportunity for direct contact with the three comrades held in the AS2 section of the prison of L’Aquila, when the respective lawyers will go to interview them.

News from Alessandria, June 26th:

Today at around 13.30, I visited the prison of Alessandria to meet Marco, who is detained in AS2 section. I spent about an hour with him and he assured me that he was subjectively good despite the several days of hunger strike, he is still in force despite the 9 kg lost (currently weighing 42 kg), he is able to stretch his legs and chat with comrades when allowed. It takes only 3 bottles of 1.5 liter water and adds them with a teaspoon of salt and one of sugar. Days ago, refusing not to integrate anything with water, he suffered a hypoglycemic crisis for which some glucose and physiological infusions were needed, but currently the problem seems to be solved and is parameterized by the health personnel twice a day to prevent them from check again. Yesterday’s blood tests and e valuable vital signs indicate a state of general suffering from mild malnutrition, but not worrying at this time.
Aware of the possible consequences of the ongoing strike undertaken, for now he does not want to give up and is determined to reject any proposal for treatment by the jailers. The news of the mobilizations outside and the conditions of the other comrades on strike arrived quite up to date, while he complained of a noticeable slowness in outgoing communications.
Marco thanks the comrades in solidarity e in particular the Cassa Antipressione delle Alpi Occidentali [Anti-repression fund of the western Alps].
Come on Marco!!
From Fabio (doctor who visited Marco on Thursday 26/06)
via: insuscettibilediravvedimento

Italy: Updates on the hunger strike of imprisoned anarchists for the closure of the AS2 section of L’Aquila

via 325

The hunger strike for the closure of the AS2 section [“High Surveillance 2”] of the prison of L’Aquila continues [it was started by the anarchists Anna Beniamino and Silvia Ruggeri on 29 May, 2019].

The anarchists prisoners Salvatore Vespertino, Giovanni Ghezzi, Alfredo Cospito, Marco Bisesti and Luca Dolce also joined the hunger strike.

In our closeness, we will not publish or in any way give space to petitions, telegrams, faxes, mail bombings or any means of civil pressure aimed at emphasizing the current repressive situation; we consider these means not only useless but harmful, counterproductive and objectively enemies of anti-authoritarian thought and action, which unfold in a very different horizon.

Translated from here:
https://www.autistici.org/cna/2019/06/03/aggiornamenti-sullo-sciopero-della-fame-dei-prigionieri-anarchici-per-la-chiusura-della-as2-de-laquila/