City of Atlanta and DeKalb County Announce ‘Agreement’ Amidst Growing Opposition to Cop City

Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced Tuesday that the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County have reached an agreement regarding permitting issues that had previously slowed their plans to build an elaborate 85-acre police training facility in the middle of a forest in unincorporated DeKalb County, southeast of Atlanta. The training center, nicknamed ‘Cop City,’ has sparked massive opposition; violent police repression of the movement against the project recently led to SWAT officers shooting and killing a protester.

Dickens’ announcement varied little from the Atlanta Police Foundation and the City of Atlanta’s previously stated plans. However, apparently responding to criticism from environmental groups and community members, the mayor attempted to reframe the project as environmentally beneficial to the South River watershed and surrounding forest. 

“I know there have been questions about the environmental impact of this project, which is a focus of this agreement we’re announcing today with DeKalb County,” said Dickens. “The 85-acre facility will be constructed on a set of parcels owned by the city of Atlanta that totals more than 380 acres. The rest of the land, which is roughly 300 acres, will continue to be green space available to the public.”

Dickens claimed that the area slated for destruction by the city contains only “invasive species, soft woods, weeds, asphalt and rubble.” But those who have been to the forest, including several Unicorn Riot contributors, know that the 85 acres slated for destruction contain an actual, thriving ecosystem.

The mayor has deemed this new plan a “compromise,” but those protesting outside the press conference say no compromise has been reached with them. 

Protesters gathered outside Atlanta City Hall during Mayor Dickens’ press conference on Tuesday and cast doubt on his claims about reaching a “compromise” re: ‘Cop City.’

“The city has lied about the Cop City acreage before,” wrote some of the protestors in a statement released by the Atlanta Community Press Collective. According to the group, the 85 acres includes only the footprint of buildings, not the entirety of forested acreage that will be destroyed by the project. 

“In August 2021, when Atlanta City Council delayed their vote on Cop City, the APF claimed a similar ‘compromise:’ instead of clearing the 381 acres they are leased by the City of Atlanta, the APF would reduce the footprint of buildings and impermeable surfaces to only 85 acres, while more of the land would be cleared and turned into turf fields, shooting ranges, horse stables labeled ‘green space.’”

– Atlanta Community Press Collective

Jasmine Burnett, with Community Movement Builders, said that her group is not assuaged by promises of “green space” either. 

“Our firm line is no cop city anywhere,” said Jasmine Burnett, Organizing Director at Community Movement Builders. “No destruction of the forest at all. I know, they’re trying to harp on the fact that it’s only 85 acres. And allegedly, the rest will be left for public use. But that’s 85 acres too much.”

“We are also calling for the charges to be dropped against all of the protesters who’ve been charged with any crimes, but especially the domestic terrorism charges,” said Burnett. “So yeah, ultimately, the fight to stop cop city continues beyond today, nothing has really changed except for the fact that they at the last minute made all of us come over here for a last minute press conference.”

Jaike Spottedwolf, who was also protesting outside City Hall during the press conference, echoed the concerns that the city continues to lie about the project. “We know how they operate,” they said. “We know that they’re going to get in there, start building and then take the whole thing down at that point, we won’t be able to fight anything.”

The pro-‘Cop City’ press conference by Atlanta officials was overshadowed both inside and outside City Hall by protesters from the #StopCopCity movement.

In the anonymous press release posted by the Atlanta Community Press Collective, the authors also pointed out that neither this current promise, nor past promises, have been legally binding. Those opposed to the project are concerned it could be nothing more than a ploy to distract opposition to the project.

“Nothing in the lease agreement was binding regarding this promise, and quickly the land disturbance permits shifted — nearly doubling to 171 acres,” the group wrote of the previous deal.

“Like all other points of ‘compromise,’ this has proved empty rhetoric to cover over the undemocratic railroading of this project on to un-represented, disenfranchised residents of Atlanta and Dekalb County. This is more backroom talk between powerful elites and their dark money contributors.”

– Anonymous Press Release by #StopCopCity Protesters

The announcement comes less than two weeks after police shot and killed forest defender Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán, claiming that Terán had shot an Atlanta State Patrol trooper in the abdomen during a raid on the forest. Activist groups, however, have called that narrative into question, demanding the release of all information available on the incident to the family for an independent investigation. The trooper who killed Terán has not been named. Protest groups are demanding the release of his name.

During the press conference, neither the politicians nor the police chief mentioned Terán’s killing. 

Recently, more than 1,300 climate justice groups have signed a statement calling for the immediate resignation of Mayor Dickens amidst growing controversy over the cop city project and Terán’s killing, according to the Atlanta Community Press Collective.

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The ‘green space’ and eco-management aspects of the plan are not new innovations or concessions, but were presented by engineers in an October 26, 2021 meeting of the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC). (Recordings of CSAC meetings were first obtained and released by the Atlanta Community Press Collective). 

In the October 2021 meeting, Lily Ponitz, a former environmental engineer serving on the committee as a concerned local resident, told the committee that areas slated for use as public parks include contamination that the Atlanta Police Foundation and the city of Atlanta instructed environmental contractors to ignore – allegations that were not challenged by either hired engineers on the call or the leaders and police officials on the committee. Ponitz was later unceremoniously kicked off the advisory committee due to her dissent regarding elements of the project.

Advisory Committee Chair Alison Clark, who was instrumental in removing Ponitz for her critical comments, is also President of the Boulder Walk Homeowner’s Association.

Bob Hughes [Project Manager working with Atlanta Police Foundation]: And I think it’s important to point out, because I know last time we there was some express about concern of making sure if there’s an environmental issue that needs to be cleaned up, that it’s addressed, that that this environmental study is not just inside the 85 acres that are the Police Foundation lease land, but we’re looking at everything outside of that so that, you know, if there’s something there, we want to know it.

And I think you all want to know, we all want to know that gets cleaned up. 

Lily Ponitz: So that’s just where I actually don’t think what you’re saying is true. And I would like to see on a map exactly what areas you are defining in your environmental site assessment and what areas are in the plan for the site plan.

Alan Williams [Project Manager, Atlanta Police Foundation]: Well, our Phase One is in the public right now.

Lilz Ponitz: Yeah, I know. I’ve read it. 

So what I’m saying is, there are areas in the site that you guys left out investigating and I understand APF [Atlanta Police Foundation] told you to do that or the city of Atlanta told you to do that. They’re your client. 

But what I’m trying to advocate for is a full assessment of the whole property to actually understand the contamination that has been put on the site by the City of Atlanta so that when you open up park spaces that have not been remediated we don’t have citizens who are coming into contact with contaminated soil and contaminated water like they already have been, honestly, with Intrenchment Creek. 

So that’s that’s just where, you know, really to prove what you’re doing, to prove that this is due diligence in the eyes of the concerned citizen. I’m asking for maps that show what areas did you leave out…?

– Exchange from October 21, 2021 meeting of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center (APSTC) Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC)

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Unicorn Riot's coverage on the movement to defend the Atlanta Forest:

Protester Shot and Killed by Officers During Raid on Atlanta Forest (January 18, 2023)

Blackhall Intensifies Destruction of Weelaunee People’s Park in Atlanta Forest (January 16, 2023)

SWAT Teams Attack Atlanta Forest Encampments, Activists Charged with ‘Terrorism’ (December 18, 2022)

[Mini Doc] Defending the Atlanta Forest: Behind the Movement to Stop Cop City (Oct. 9, 2022)

“Cop City” General Contractors’ Offices Attacked (May 19, 2022)

Police Raid Atlanta Forest Occupation (May 18, 2022)

Atlanta Fights to Save Its Forest (May 14, 2022)

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Watch on YouTube here: 10/26/21 Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Community Stakeholders Advisory Committee Zoom Mtg
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NYE Misdemeanor Riot Charges Taken to Trial

Minneapolis, MN – Two years after being arrested during a New Year’s Eve noise demo and charged with misdemeanor riot, one person has taken her case to trial this week in which her supporters are calling on the broader community for court support.

On Dec. 31, 2020, Minneapolis Police violently swarmed an annual noise demo outside the Juvenile Detention Center downtown, arresting three dozen. Five were given “politically motivated” felony charges, none of which wound up being felony convictions and now, Justina is the last one fighting misdemeanor charges.

A person who wished to remain anonymous submitted a statement on behalf of supporters of Justina saying she was fighting the charges that stemmed from having “a few harmless sparklers” to prove how “baseless” they are.

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“On New Year’s Eve from 2020 to 21, angry abolitionists gathered in so-called Minneapolis for the tradition of holding noise demonstrations outside prisons to ring in the new year with our incarcerated neighbors. the walls manifest the isolation that the state puts human beings through, noise demos symbolically tear those walls down on the one time of year we hold hope for; the new year.

It was out of that optimistic hope that Justina and others gathered outside the so-called juvenile justice center, making noise, and standing in solidarity with juvenile prisoners. In response, MPD and HCSO officers surveilled, stalked, kettled, brutalized, and ultimately arrested 35 of the peaceful protesters without warning. despite charges ranging from misdemeanors to five felonies in the group, all the felonies were dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor, and most of the misdemeanors were also dismissed or reduced. Casualties ranging from head traumas to cold weather injuries were sustained by the protesters.

In J’s case, her possession of a few harmless sparklers were enough to charge her with a misdemeanor ‘riot’ charge. Starting this week, J’s has taken her case to trial to prove how baseless these charges are. Your support through this protracted process is key to reminding the state that we are watching and willing to challenge them in court, if only to expose their repression in their own little venue of courts and amerikan ‘justice.’

Join us for court support!”

Statement from supporters of Justina

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According to court support, trial is ongoing at the Hennepin County Government Center in Room 1655 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See our past report from February 2021 which featured statements from a handful of noise demo participants and arrestees. Their testimonies paint a picture of a cold, traumatic night of aggressive police repression.

Cover image via Chad Davis.

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Watch on YouTube here: Mass protests by climate activists follow eviction of occupied German village
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Mass Protests by Climate Activists Follow Eviction of Occupied German Village

Lützerath, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – Thousands protested the planned expansion of an immense open-pit coal mine, one of the largest in Europe. The forceful eviction of climate activists who were occupying Lützerath for more than two years and the demolition of the village itself became a call to action, sparking the largest protest yet seen in the region. The sheer number of people, together with the presence of famed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, attracted the attention of both local and international media, helping to broadcast climate activists’ searing criticism of the German government’s energy policy, which has used the war in Ukraine as an excuse to continue burning coal.

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Background to The Protests

The Garzweiler open-pit coal mine, operated by energy giant RWE, has expanded to consume around 15 villages since the 1960s. This mine and others like it, including the Hambach mine, provide lignite, or brown coal, the dirtiest type of coal. The coal is delivered via trains from the mine to several coal-fired power stations in the region, including one built in 2020.

Climate Activists Disrupt German Coal Mine Expansion

The decision to destroy Lützerath was a result of a “compromise” deal struck between the government and energy firm RWE last year. In exchange, RWE agreed to stop mining coal by 2030 rather than the previously promised 2038. This agreement was all the more disappointing for environmentalists because it was made by the Greens, with that party’s minister of economy, Robert Habeck, serving as the face of the controversial decision.

Germany’s outward image as a leader in green energy — with Green Party members currently in the coalition leadership of the government — has been called into question locally and abroad. A group of 500 scientists released a condemnation of the eviction of Lützerath, highlighting the contradictions in Germany’s energy policy, which would fail to comply with the Paris Climate Accords at current levels of coal extraction.

According to climate activists, the compromise is simply dangerous as it threatens the climate goal of preventing a 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures. Viewed through the lens of looming climate catastrophe, decisions like this one are paid for by the global South, and activists argue that the country’s economic justifications can no longer serve as an excuse.

Photo by Kian Seara Rey.

Over the past two years, Lützerath became a symbolic battleground for climate justice. But for anyone present at the January 14 mass demonstration, the battleground was far from a metaphor. Large open fields surrounding the open-pit mine were filled with people and clashes between protesters and police, all steeped in mud, as much a part of the landscape as the plumes coming from the chimneys of the adjacent coal power plants. Terrified hares ran through the disarrayed crowd; in one poignant instance passing a group of protesters chanting “we are nature defending itself.”

Although the large demonstration marked a culminating point in the resistance against coal, this momentum was gained only because of the ceaseless activity of coalitions of activists, some present at the site for years, most of them not locals. During this time, dozens of activist groups big and small, such as Lützerath Bleibt, Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, and Ende Gelände, to name just a few, got involved in the occupation of the village. The demolition of Lützerath was fuel for residual anger among activists. 

The demonstration began from the town of Keyenberg, about 1.5 miles from Lützerath, and became chaotic as soon as the crowd strayed from the planned route towards the edge of the mine and ultimately towards Lützerath, fenced off and heavily guarded by hundreds of riot police since only a few days prior. There were more people than expected — a range of environmental groups and a variety of chants — everybody trying to move around as much as possible if only to warm themselves against the bitter cold. In contrast, police cars were orderly lined up for kilometers and enclosing the protesters; arriving on the field, you noticed these before spotting the open pit (which says something about the scale of their operation).

Photo by Kian Seara Rey.

Likewise, the police actions also had a symmetry to them. Heavily armored figures were running in columns, splitting and rearranging formations, encircling any group within their reach and reaching for their batons in unison. This careful choreography resulted in dozens of injuries, according to activists. The blatant display of violence against overwhelmingly peaceful protesters was done at the behest of the RWE, spokespersons for the protest groups insist. Police say 12 people were arrested and nine taken to the hospital. “Fortunately no one was seriously injured,” police claimed. Activists contradicted this and alleged many more injured, some seriously.

Thousands of police had converged on the mining area from 14 of Germany’s 16 states. The charge that they are acting as henchmen for a private energy corporation is one of the main grievances of climate activists, particularly as the police brutality at the demonstrations was widely shared and condemned. The accusation is metonymic in its nature as the police force represents a punishing hand of a larger organizational body. If the activists are right, even if the German government is the state’s head, the RWE is the neck that turns it. 

Photo by Kian Seara Rey

The presence of Greta Thunberg at the protest helped internationalize the issue and reminded the crowd that Germany is one of the biggest polluters in Europe. Of course, the Swedish activist wasn’t the only one who showed up from abroad to support the resistance – there were many protesters who came from various cities in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and France, among others.

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Protester Direct Actions and Police Violence Escalates

Unlike some celebrities (at least those who, like Thunberg, seem to possess the ability to merge with the crowd if needed), activist groups are usually easy to spot, even in the chaotic whirl of the protest. The yellow letter X, for Extinction Rebellion, was big enough to shield more than one person against, at least, a moderate blow or flying object. Others carried flags. The white jumpsuits of Ende Gelände stood out against the crowd — black is a more sensible choice as, for one, it helps to remain anonymous.

Many who weren’t wearing scarves on their faces painted them in geometric shapes or black lines to defy facial recognition, tricks that fool the expensive police equipment. Anonymity notwithstanding, some that joined the protests resurfaced as characters (a person dubbed by the Internet as “the mud wizard” being the most obvious example). Despite these details, everyone that gathered on the field was aware that the situation was not theater.

Water cannons made it clear that the police were shifting to the offensive under the cover of darkness. The crowds were pushed from the site, with most starting long journeys back home. The rest returned to the activist camp in Keyenberg to prepare for the actions planned for the coming days. The central structure at the camp is a circus tent and open-air kitchens. This is a signature of the camps set up by Ende Gelände, whose members undergo training and set out to disrupt the coal mines. These are approached from several directions, in formations called ‘fingers’ whose aim is to reach the open-pit mines and sabotage their operations.

A few days later, on January 17, a series of direct actions against several different mines in the Rhineland coal region shut down operations for hours. A march headed by a sound system van playing protest songs left Keyenberg at around 11 a.m. headed south on the L12 road near the edge of the Garzweiler mine. Despite police warning the crowd to stay on the road, around 400-500 mostly Ende Gelände activists suddenly ran towards the mine at the point at which the road drew closest to Lützerath.

After evading the hundreds of riot police swinging batons, charging on horses, and commanding barking dogs, the activists were eventually encircled near the mine’s edge. Police surrounded the group for over two hours while they decided how to process them and waited for police vans to arrive. The activists were eventually brought by force to an ID check and released later that evening.

Though Lützerath has now been fully evicted and is certain to be destroyed, activists remain in the Keyenberg camp. Police are expected to begin winding down their massive operation in the area, leaving it to “RWE to carry out the rest of the eviction,” said Zora Fotidou, a spokesperson for “Lützerath Lebt” (Lützerath Lives). This, according to the activists, creates new opportunities for resistance.

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Germany Anti-Coal Mine coverage:

• Police Evict Environmental Protesters from Lützerath, Germany - January 16, 2023
• Climate Activists Disrupt German Coal Mine Expansion - November 16, 2021
• Tree House Villages Defend Ancient German Forest Against Expanding Coal Mine - September 9, 2019
• Direct Action Shuts Down Coal Infrastructure in Germany - June 21, 2019
• Touring Activists Build Momentum Toward Climate Justice - May 8, 2019
• Direct Action Shuts Down Coal Mine in Germany (w/ Interview) – Deprogram Ep. 16 - August 21, 2015

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Watch on YouTube here: Close Friends of Manuel Terán Share Insight into Who They Were and How They Dedicated Their Life
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Masses of Minneapolis Police Swarm Tyre Nichols Protest Before it Starts

Minneapolis, MN – Dozens of Minneapolis Police cars from all five precincts, including SWAT officers, bike patrol, undercovers and a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter, suppressed a lightly attended protest for Tyre Nichols before it could start.

Nichols, a 29-year-old photographer and father of one, was pulled over, taken out of his car and pepper sprayed, tased and brutally beaten by a slew of Memphis Police officers on Jan. 7, 2023. He succumbed to his injuries three days later. Five of the now-fired officers involved have been charged with second degree murder and several other felonies.

In single-digit temperatures after 9 p.m. on Saturday night two dozen protesters gathered near the Mississippi River at Merriam Street and SE Main Street in the St. Anthony Main district of southeast Minneapolis. Meanwhile, spread across the nearby streets, police amassed themselves in small groupings of squad cars and department vehicles on various side streets and slightly hidden locations.

In a large show of force, at 9:35 p.m., a coordinated procession of heavily armed police drove to the scene with their lights on. The crowd of two dozen protesters started to then walk down the sidewalk as the police slowly drove down the cobblestones of Main Street and flanked the protesters, shining their window-side high beams on them.

After being closely flanked for several blocks, the crowd dispersed after they walked northwest down University Avenue from SE 3rd Ave., disallowing the police vehicles to continue to flank them as it’s a one way.

Swarms of officers continued to flood the neighborhood for the next hours. Nearly every block had a Minneapolis Police car on or around it. Some would park their squads with their lights on, others took up three-fourths of the street with their vehicles next to each other to hold conversations.

Many of the squads were seen with different colored tape across the backs or sides of their police cars, potentially color coding precincts or what their roles were in the operation. Meanwhile, in the sky above the area, a Minnesota State Patrol surveillance helicopter (tail number N119SP) provided real-time video imagery to the police from thousands of feet above for several hours.

Masses of Minneapolis Police continue to heavily patrol St. Anthony Main district of Minneapolis where they earlier swarmed a #TyreNichols protest before it started. Many officers were seen huddling for a brief time at 6th Ave SE and 2nd St SE. Police are on nearly every block. pic.twitter.com/YKfhR4c5QV

— UNICORN RIOT mastodon.social/@UnicornRiot (@UR_Ninja) January 29, 2023

The police intimidation came after a week-long nationwide media blitz reporting on some of the horrific known details of Tyre Nichols’ death and leading directly into a Friday evening body cam reveal that aired nationwide on prime time television.

During the lead up to the prime time release and after, a wave of fear-based messaging from state authorities called for people to remain calm and some state governors, including those in Arkansas and Georgia, activated National Guard units. Local Minneapolis Police fenced up precincts and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF) alert emails were sent around the metro warning of “potential civil unrest.”

Because the public callout flyer for the Minneapolis protest hasn’t been sourced to any particular group, movement, or person, Unicorn Riot spoke with several local activists about the protest both before and after. Some expressed worry that the protest may have been part of a government operation to either entrap people or just add to their surveillance database and others expressed anger at Tyre Nichols’ death and said any call for a protest is legitimate, even if it’s militant.

The flyer that was posted to social media that was shared with and by the George Floyd Square Instagram account had at the top in red and all caps: “avenge Tyre Nichols, Keenan Anderson, Tortuguita and all who have been killed by the pigs.” The location, time and date was given along with the note to “stay safe and stay dangerous” as well as “when the kkkops keep killing us its up to us to strike back.”

While anonymous flyers are nothing new in the contemporary protest scene, another flyer involving New York City drew promotion on Fox News and chuckles for talking about “bring a knife… to free unlawfully detained comrades.”

A dubious widely circulated flyer that appeared on Fox News and social media.

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Police Budgets, Killings Increase

Though Tyre’s death was caused by a majority of Black officers in Tennessee (there was at least one white officer who remains uncharged), it’s the whole institution of policing that is continuing to kill Americans at record setting rates. And Black people account for over a quarter of the killings, according Mapping Police Violence, despite only being 13% of the population.

During the first two years of the Biden Administration, police killings have continued to top each previous year, with last year marking a new record high of 1,186 people killed by police in the U.S. in one year. This follows one of the largest and most widespread protest movements in history spawning from the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis.

Police agencies have obtained large budget increases in many areas across the country, and President Joe Biden has proposed to dramatically increase federal funds going into local police forces. In 2021, a George Floyd Policing Act passed the U.S. House but failed in the Senate, which would have made federal funds more conditional on banning some abusive policing practices. In March 2022, the Biden Administration proposed massive increases to federal funding of local police in the fiscal year 2023 budget including $35 billion to “support law enforcement and crime prevention,” the White House said. (158-page budget PDF here.)

The Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program ran a Cops Hiring Program to direct $156 million of federal money into local police agencies in fiscal year 2022, and the White House called for $12 billion to be put into this program in September. An additional $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2022 was offered for local agencies and other groups via the Department of Homeland Security Urban Areas Security Initiative.

Dan Feidt contributed to this report for Unicorn Riot.

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Watch on YouTube here: Masses of Minneapolis Police Swarm Protest for Tyre Nichols Before it Started
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Watch on YouTube here: Anarchists Reoccupy Squat in Solidarity with Inmate on Hunger Strike
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Prisoners in Greece: Hunger Strike as a Weapon

Responding to the Greek government’s continuous attack on prisoners’ rights, inmates have waged seven hunger strikes in prisons across Greece over the last three years — many of which have been successful.

According to the prisoners and their supporters, authorities target certain incarcerated people and challenge their rights, rewrite laws which they’ve seemingly chosen not to follow themselves, and have made a consistent practice of transferring prisoners vindictively.

On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, 10 imprisoned Turkish and Kurdish hunger strike prisoners were released. Before the 10 striking prisoners were released, the last prisoner who went on a strike in Greece was Thanos Hatziagelou, an anarchist from Thessaloniki. Since 2020, there were four other strikers: Vasilis Dimakis and Kostas Sakkas during April and November 2020, Dimitris Koufontinas in January 2021, and Giannis Michailidis in May 2022.

Meanwhile, in solidarity with the striking prisoners, Greek anarchists and community members have been supporting the inmates, holding demonstrations, and re-occupying squats.

The Eleven Turkish and Kurdish Political Refugees

In 2018, 11 Turkish and Kurdish political refugees were convicted, without concrete evidence, of allegedly being members of a Turkey-based militant group known as DHKP-C. The prisoners appealed and when the trial started, they went on a hunger strike for 97 days refusing to eat anything, except sugar, salt and water. 

Finally, at the third court hearing, on Jan. 10, the release request for 10 out of 11 prisoners was accepted. As the only piece of evidence in the trial, the last prisoner admitted to transferring and concealing a bag of guns. The 10 prisoners have since been released on bail and are going through their second trial.

Turkish and Kurdish political refugees battling terrorism charges in Greek court – photo via Halk Cephesi (trn: Popular Front)

In the first trial for the charges, the prisoners were physically beaten inside one of the court hearings — as reported by their lawyers — before they were convicted based on the anti-terrorist law of Greece and sentenced to 33 years. Yet, no terrorist actions were brought up in court by the Antiterrorist Agency of Greece (Δ.Α.Ε.Ε.Β.).

DHKP-C (Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi or Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front) is a political group in Turkey which espouses a militant Marxist-Leninist ideology, and is labeled as a terror organization by Turkey, Japan, the U.S. State Department since 1997, and others. DHKP-C members have carried out several armed actions, most notably the kidnapping and assassination of Turkish prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz, who was handling the case of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old teenager killed by the police in 2014.

The group has never carried out an action in Greece, and there is no evidence connecting the 11 prisoners with the organization. Their arrests were made in Athens on Nov. 28, 2017, 10 days before Recep Tayipp Erdogan, the President of Turkey, visited Greece.

The Sudden Transfer of Thanos Hatziagelou & Victorious Hunger Strike

Days before Christmas Eve on Dec. 18, 2022, the prison council of Korydallos, the biggest prison in Greece, decided to transfer prisoner Thanos Hatziagelou to Thessaloniki, and then to a prison in Serres, despite not providing an explanation or a written order. 

Since his arrest in February 2022, Hatziagelou, an anarchist, has been outspoken from prison, accepting responsibility for several bombings of ‘Organisation Anarchist Action’ in Thessaloniki since 2016.

Hatziagelou immediately started a hunger and thirst strike on Dec. 19, asking for a written order for his transfer. The Greek state refused to respond and he continued his strike. He wrote in a public letter that he was willing to “die with dignity” in a strike for his rights. 

Judges who ruled in the case decided not to order a written transfer, but instead they ordered Hatziagelou to be force-fed, a measure labeled as torture under international treaties. But the doctors in the hospital of Serres, where he was hospitalized, refused the force-feeding order. 

Anarchists traveled on New Year’s Eve from Thessaloniki to the hospital of Serres to celebrate the New Year beside Thanos Hatziagelou.

On Jan. 4, anarchists symbolically recuperated the evicted Terra Incognita squat in Thessaloniki, in solidarity with Thanos Ηatziagelou. The recuperation took place at 10 a.m. and police intervened at 1 p.m. The operation featured heavy police tactics with SWAT teams, anti-riot police and several motorcycle police officers. Police arrested 21 people and gave them all several charges, including resisting and violent acts against police officers.

Konstantinos Papathanasiou, the secretary of anti-crime policy, decided to transfer Ηatziagelou from the hospital in Serres to the hospital in Korydallos. After that, Hatziagelou stopped the thirst strike and continued the hunger strike. On Jan. 15, Hatziagelou was transferred by van from Serres to Korydallos hospital and stopped the hunger strike too, as his demands were finally met after almost one month.

Demo held in solidarity with hunger striker Thanos Hatziagelou on Jan. 3, 2023 in Thessaloniki, Greece – Banner reads: “State is exterminating anarchist Thanos Hatziagelou.Hunger and thirst striker since 19.12. Immediate fulfillment of his demands.” (Contributed by Alex Litsardakis)

Banner drop during the symbolic reoccupation of Terra Incognita squat on Jan. 4, 2023 in Thessaloniki, Greece – Banner reads: “Win for the hunger and thirst strike of Thanos Hatziagelou. Demolish the new penal code.” (Contributed by Alex Litsardakis)

Giannis Michailidis: A Strike that Sparked Police Brutality in Athens

Last year, another anarchist prisoner, Giannis Michailidis, went on a 68-day hunger strike. Michailidis has served nine years in prison, after being arrested in an encounter with police officers. He started a hunger strike in May 2022, demanding his release on bail.

When he made the demand, Michailidis had served three-fifths of his 20-year penalty and two-fifths of his sentence for breaking out in 2019. He was studying in the Agricultural University of Athens, taking several educational furloughs from prison, until a prosecutor in 2019 decided to veto any further leaves.

While he was on hunger strike for his release, two other major cases came into court where inmates were released on bail: the case of the rapist, Dimitris Lignadis, and the case of the policeman who killed Alexis Grigoropoulos, Epaminondas Korkoneas. Both of those convicted criminals were released in contested court decisions at the same time Michailidis was asking for his release based on fulfilled law requirements.

This practice of double standards led to social turmoil and brought thousands of people into the streets demanding Michailidis’ release and protesting against the release of Lignadis and Korkoneas.

Police prohibited a demonstration in Athens on July 28, the same day that the prosecutor refused Michailidis for a second time. This brought a riotous reaction by protesters in the streets. In response, riot police gave one of its most memorable crescendos of police brutality in 2022, gassing and beating protesters. The next day, Michailidis ended his strike after 68 days.

Δείτε τον μπάτσο των ΜΑΤ πώς ρίχνει διαδηλωτή στο οδόστρωμα με κλωτσιά και πώς συνεχίζει να τον κλωτσάει. #Michailidis_Hungerstrike #antireport pic.twitter.com/WvEsoI68tx

— idiotypos (@idiotypos) July 28, 2022

Ένταση και χημικά στην πορεία για τον #Μιχαηλίδη pic.twitter.com/nEbccf9fH4

— nikos christofakis (@ChristofakisN) July 28, 2022

Dimitris Koufontinas: The Revenge of the Family

In 2020, the Greek government enacted a law tailored to target a leader of the notorious now-defunct far-left militant group 17N, Dimitris Koufontinas. The provision disallowed prisoners convicted of terrorist attacks the ability to stay in county jails. Koufontinas had been in a county jail in Volos since 2018. On December 20, 2020, he was suddenly moved from Volos, confirming he was a target of the new law. The government didn’t even respect its own law, transferring Koufontinas to Domokos, instead of Korydallos, his first jail, where he should have been placed, based on the new law 4760/2020.

During the transfer, which was described by Koufontinas as more of a kidnapping rather than a lawful order, policemen took him at 3:30 a.m. without telling him where he was going. A couple weeks later on January 8, 2021, Koufontinas started a hunger strike, which provoked intense political debate across Greece.

Named after the date in 1973 when the U.S.-backed military junta massacred students at Polytechnic University in Athens, Greece, Revolutionary Organization 17 November, or 17N, was a far-left urban guerrilla organization that waged a deadly 27-year campaign across Greece. 17N’s first assassination targeted the CIA station chief in Athens, Richard Welch. From 1975 to 2002, the group assassinated several U.S. officials, wealthy Greek industrialists, and police officers. In 1989, 17N killed Pavlos Bakoyannis, the husband of Parliament member Dora Bakoyannis (who is the sister of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the current Prime Minister of Greece).

Several international organizations, such as Amnesty International, intervened in favor of Koufontinas asking the state to hear Koufontinas’ lawful demand and have a hearing on each transfer, and not to judge each ruling based on the past actions of the prisoner. Doctors, well-known academics, political parties, the Union of Judges and Prosecutors of Greece, and even a police trade unionist, called on the Greek government to respect the general rule of law and save his life.

Α former MP and Minister of New Democracy, Aris Spiliotopoulos, said at the time, “[The] death penalty does not exist in our country. Revenge has no place in our penal system,” while Costa-Gavras, the well-known Greek director, said that: “If they let Koufontinas die, it will look like revenge.” (Costa-Gavras’ acclaimed 1969 film ‘Z’ is a lightly fictionalized version of a real-life 1963 political assassination that led to the 1967 junta takeover carried out by unites trained by NATO and the CIA.)

All of this took place during the pandemic, where strict measures kept people off the streets. Many went to social media to express their frustration. It was during this period that Facebook then banned the profiles of several photojournalists posting photos of demonstrations (ex: Marios Lolos, Tatiana Bolari, and Lefteris Partsalis) and journalists posting on the issue, saying that referring to Koufontinas’ name is against the community rules.

Photo by Marios Lolos, that was censored from Facebook – banner reads “I was born the 17th of November – Solidarity Assembly to hunger striker D. Koufontinas”

In the end, after 65 days — several of them in the ICU — Dimitris Koufontinas ended his strike on March 14 without getting his demands met. However, one year after the decision for his transfer, on December 7, 2022, the Supreme Court of Greece ruled in favor of Koufontinas’ request. Now the lawfulness of each transfer will be brought to a court hearing.

Vasilis Dimakis-Kostas Sakkas: Prisoners Struggling for Educational Rights

Two other prisoners in Greece have used hunger and thirst strikes in prison to demand better educational rights. Vasilis Dimakis and Kostas Sakkas are two prisoners who’ve expressed willingness to study and have been retaliated against by the Greek state with extra punishment for their actions, cutting their furloughs or transferring them.

Sakkas held a successful five-day hunger strike for his education. Originally Sakkas was studying in Athens while he was imprisoned in Korydallos (Athens) for a bank robbery in Thessaloniki. However, the council responsible for prisoner transfers decided to keep him in Athens until a sudden decision from the director of the jail, Maria Stefi, who decided to transfer him to Nigrita Prison in Serres on November 9, 2020. After five days of a hunger strike, he was transferred back to the jail of Korydallos in Athens, to continue his studies.

Vasilis Dimakis went on a hunger and thirst strike three times because of the challenges he encountered when trying to study Political Science in Athens while being incarcerated. The first time was in 2018, when the SYRIZA-ANEL government left him for 30 days on hunger strike without an answer to his demand for access to the university. Later, Dimakis went on two other hunger strikes in 2020 and 2022.

In 2020, his rights were restricted again. This time, his fellow students stood beside his demands to return to his studies. In March 2022, he again started a hunger strike, which was short because his educational demands were accepted. While on educational leave, on March 18, Dimakis broke his electronic wristband and escaped. Dimakis was arrested by police in the port city of Piraeus on March 23.

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See past Unicorn Riot reporting on anarchist and political prisoners in Greece:

Greece: Political Prisoners Pt. 1 – Tasos Freed & Irianna Jailed (Τάσος & Ηριάννα)

Greece: Political Prisoners Pt. 2 – Targeting of Anarchists & Autonomous Groups

Greece: Political Prisoners Pt. 3 – Criminalized by Association

For more media from Greece, see our Greece archive page.

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The post Prisoners in Greece: Hunger Strike as a Weapon appeared first on UNICORN RIOT.

by Unicorn Riot via UNICORN RIOT

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Watch on YouTube here: Israeli Raid on Jenin Kills 9, Including Elderly Woman
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Elderly Woman Among at Least 9 Palestinians Killed During Raid on Jenin

Jenin Refugee Camp, Occupied West Bank, Palestine – At least 9 Palestinians, including an elderly woman were killed by Israeli forces during a raid on the Jenin Refugee Camp this morning. At least 20 were injured, with four in critical condition.

Thursday morning’s raid was the deadliest in decades. Israel has killed at least 29 Palestinians in the first 27 days of the new calendar year. Many are expecting things to get worse with the new far-right Israeli government.

Israeli media claimed that the operation in Jenin targeted three wanted persons from the Islamic Jihad Movement who had planned a major operation against Israeli targets. The official Israeli radio “Kan” stated that “forces from Yamam and border guards stormed the Jenin camp this morning on a mission to arrest wanted Palestinians, during which there was an exchange of heavy fire.”

Israeli media reported that “the main wanted person in the operation was arrested.” Without revealing his identity and details, the Army Radio reported that the aim of the operation was to arrest a senior wanted man from the Islamic Jihad Movement. Meanwhile another of the three wanted militants was killed while the other escaped.

The nine Palestinians killed during the raid on Jenin were: Abdullah Marwan Al-Ghoul (18), Moatasem Mahmoud Abu Al-Hassan (40), Wasim Amjad Aref Al-Jaas (22), Nour Al-Din Sami Ghoneim (25), Muhammad Sami Ghoneim (28), Muhammad Mahmoud Sobh (30), Saeb Essam Zreiki (24), Izz al-Din Yassin Salahat (22), and the elderly woman Magda Obaid (61) whom her family says simply looked out her window when she was killed by an Israeli sniper.

Three of the nine Palestinians killed in Jenin during an Israeli raid on January 26, 2023 are pictured at their funeral

Of the injuries, the Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that “most of the injuries that arrived at hospitals today from Jenin camp were in the head and chest, which means that the shooting at citizens was intended to kill, and the occupation’s aggression resulted in the death of 9 martyrs, and dozens of injuries, including 4 in a state of danger.”

According to reports, the first Israeli forces that stormed the area arrived disguised in a dairy truck. Israel used heavy artillery, anti-tank missiles, and bulldozers.

An Israeli military reconnaissance drone was reported shot down during the fighting. The Army confirmed, quoting a security source, that a reconnaissance drone had fallen in the Jenin camp and claimed that there was no fear of information leakage.

Watch: Palestinian resistance fighters successfully target an Israeli military drone which falls out of the sky as a result during a furious Israeli military raid into the Jenin refugee camp, this morning. pic.twitter.com/rY4E3WNlL8

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 26, 2023

Due to intensity of the gunfighting around the Jenin Camp Club, Israeli forces destroyed the club’s exterior, whose courtyards held the mourning houses of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Israeli bulldozers and artillery destroyed at least a dozen vehicles, many in the parking lot of the club.

After witnessing the fighting, Abu Muhammad told Unicorn Riot that droves of youth were resisting the raid and shooting bullets and throwing firebombs at the Israeli soldiers. He said that after a wall of the club was destroyed, it allowed Israeli forces a path to reach the youth fighters. On top of that, Muhammad said Israeli snipers were shooting everyone who tried to help the wounded.

A military correspondent of Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth (ynetnews) said, “The operation in broad daylight in Jenin and this size indicates its importance and urgency. In the security establishment, they are talking about thwarting a major attack that was planned for the first time in years.”

The Palestinian Authority, who are tasked with running security in the occupied West Bank and have intricate partnered relations with the Israelis, have now severed their ties with Israel over the deadly raid.

An Israeli bulldozer and military vehicle driving through Jenin Refugee Camp during deadly raid on Jan. 26, 2023

A Palestinian building is destroyed by Israeli artillery during deadly raid on Jenin Refugee Camp on Jan. 26, 2023

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Unicorn Riot's Coverage from Palestine:

• Surfing Santas in Gaza Welcome a New Year of ‘Prosperity and Happiness’ - January 4, 2023
• Palestinian Lands Seized for Israeli Military and Colony Settlements - December 14, 2022
• Gaza Flooded Due to Old Infrastructure From Israeli Blockade and Bombings - November 22, 2022
• Nablus Siege Lifted After 3+ Weeks of Collective Punishment - November 10, 2022
• Attacks and Collective Punishment, a Cycle of Palestinian-Israeli Conflict - October 18, 2022
• Murals of Eyes in Silwan Remind Jerusalem of Palestinian Struggle - October 1, 2022
• Protests in Besieged Palestinian Village Nabi Samuel Suppressed - September 25, 2022
• Over 2,200 Israeli Raids Killed 140 Palestinians Thus Far in 2022 - September 13, 2022
• Sand Sculpture on Shore of Gaza Sea Tributes Children Killed by Israeli Forces - August 31, 2022
• Clowns Visit Children in Gaza Amidst Rubble of Destroyed Houses - August 12, 2022
• Operation Breaking Dawn: Israel Kills 44 Palestinians Over Three Days - August 9, 2022
• Occupation Forces Repress Palestinians Fighting Land Grabs in the Northwestern West Bank - June 29, 2022
• Israeli Raid on Nablus Kills Two Palestinians and Wounds Many - July 25, 2022
• Palestinians Speak Out During Biden’s Visit - July 21, 2022
• Israeli Forces Suppress Protests After Court Green Lights Demolitions in Masafer Yatta - June 30, 2022
• Israeli Forces Raid Jenin, Kill Three Palestinians, Wound 10 - June 18, 2022
• Israeli Forces Assault Mourners of Young Man Dead After Israeli Attack on Al-Aqsa - June 16, 2022
• Israeli Settlers Celebrate Capturing Jerusalem, Police Arrest Palestinians - June 11, 2022
• Palestinian Investigation Finds Israel Responsible for Killing Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - June 7, 2022
• Israel Kills 4 Palestinians in 48 Hours and Blows Up a Home - June 3, 2022
• Eyewitness Recounts Moments Israeli Forces Killed Shireen Abu Akleh - May 24, 2022
• Israeli Police Attack Funeral Procession of Palestinian-American Journalist - May 21, 2022
• Demonstrations in West Bank for Palestinian Prisoner’s Day and Jenin Camp - May 17, 2022
• Israeli Army Kills Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - May 11, 2022
• Israeli Forces Clear Al-Aqsa for Settlers’ Tours - May 6, 2022
• Palestinians Killed While Resisting Israeli Forces in Silwad Led to More Protests - May 1, 2022
• Last Friday Prayer of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Draws 160K Despite Strict Measures by Israeli Forces - April 30, 2022
• Man Shot by Israeli Forces During Land Day Demonstration - April 27, 2022
• Musaharati Dressed as Clowns Wake Up Citizens in Gaza Strip for Meal Before Ramadan Fast - April 25, 2022
• Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza, Iron Dome Explodes Missiles - April 22, 2022
• Israeli Airstrikes Target Gaza - April 19, 2022
• Al-Aqsa Mosque Stormed: Israeli Police Detain 400, Injure 153 - April 15, 2022
• Israeli Raids on Jenin Refugee Camp Leave Many Dead, Dozens Shot - April 15, 2022
• Palestinian Protesters Fight Occupation on Mount Sabih, Nablus - April 15, 2022
• Interview: First Ukrainian Refugee Arrives in Gaza Strip - April 14, 2022
• Palestinians Commemorate Land Day with Demos in Negev & Gaza - April 12, 2022
• Israeli Forces Stifle Religious Freedoms During Ramadan - April 5, 2022
• Palestinians Prevented from Reaching Confiscated Lands in Qusra, Gassed by Occupation Forces - March 31, 2022
• Palestinians Protest Israeli Colony Outposts in Northern West Bank - March 22, 2022

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The post Elderly Woman Among at Least 9 Palestinians Killed During Raid on Jenin appeared first on UNICORN RIOT.


by Unicorn Riot via UNICORN RIOT