A message from CAE Paris
Position of CAE Paris
05.Aug.02 -
The CAE (Anti-deportation Collective), which takes part in the no-border network and is concerned with struggles against repression, whether they are lead in prisons or anywhere else, entirely supports the declaration made by the Il-legal team:
Ahmed, who is an activist from the Mouvement spontané (Spontaneous Movement, created after the first round of the French presidential elections) and who took part in the No border camp, was the victim of a targeted arrest which occurred during the 4th July demo for freedom of movement and settlement and for the closure of detention centres. Police repression was particularly strong and violent during this demo, as tear-gas and truncheons were largely used and plastic bullets have been fired from less than a distance of 4 meters distance; 2 people were seriously injured then. The whole camp was frantically harassed as well (as it was forbidden to demonstrate after the 24 July, as there were continual arrests and 7 people were charged...)
More generally, people who fight against social control and its instruments are closely watched by the police. Therefore we fear that Ahmed will become a symbol of the state's will to shut any protest against the law-and-order measures down. We also fear that he will be punished for all the people who have taken part in the camp. The diverse actions and demonstrations which took place could not be stopped, and Ahmed's criminalization looks like a delayed revenge to prove that the state is still able to control the "wild children" who rebel against the established order\205
At the moment, Ahmed is on remand and hold in isolation. He is only allowed to see prison officers and to be visited by his lawyer.
We condemn the solitary confinement in prison; they aim indeed at cutting the detainee from any social life he/she is left with. They also take away all the reference points to daily life and are coupled with all sorts of bullying and violence. They lead to psychological and psychiatric effects and constitute a form of torture.
Considering the current political context, Ahmed's isolation and all the prosecutions taken against people who took part in the camp (5 trials are scheduled\205) are the result of a political will.
We demand the end of the prosecutions against Ahmed, we demand his immediate release from isolation, as well as for any other detainee, and his release before the start of the trial on 21st August.
CAE