Occupation of a building of the Ministery of Justice in Strasbourg
Solitary confinement + no visits = white torture.
23.Aug.02 - We are currently occupying the annex of the ministry of justice, which is at 8 Gustave Adolphe Hirn Road, in Strasbourg, to demand an end to the unacceptable treatment that Ahmed has suffered in prison for a month of isolation without visits. We demand that he be immediately accorded a visitation permit and that the prison give us assurances that he is out of solitary confinement.
Ahmed, co-founder of Spontaneous Movement and participant in the NoBorder Camp was arrested on July 24 during the protest in support of undocumented immigrants, for the closing of all immigrant detention centers and for freedom of movement. He has been in prison since then, and was condemned on August 24 to 8 months in prison, with parole after 3 months, and more than 700 euros in fines, despite multiple inconsistencies in the accustation and procedural errors. His arres, as well as all the procedings afterwards, bears witness to cruel police and judicial persecution: targeted arrest long after the events in question, with rubber bullets (one seriously injured), immediate trial, kept in prison while injured, placed in solitary confinement as soon as he arrived in prison, denied visits, hearing for release from pretrial detention without a lawyer... the motivation for his isolation was given in writing by the Penitentiary Admnistration (the document will be published soon): participation in an antiprison group and the ensemble of his political opinions, which could trouble the other detainees: he is not accused of having committed any concrete actions inside the prison, this notice is the clumsy admission of special treatment for a crime of conscience.
Ahmed is furthermore condemned and the court continues to refuse him any visits. He is probably still in solitary confinement. This "special treatment" clearly shows a desire to prevent him from organizing his defense and to destabilize Ahmed: for more than 28 days he has not had any human contact other than his lawyer and the prison staff; he even goes out to exercise all alone. We fear that the continuation of this treatment, unacceptable for anybody, may cause serious problems. Physical, psychological, and psychiatric problems are often seen in prisoners coming out of isolation, which constitute a real form of torture. Twice we have launched helium balloons with flags hanging from them over the high prison walls to keep in contact, in spite of everything, with Ahmed and to say hello to all the prisoners.
While the support for AHmed grows more and more large and active; while the denouncements of the repression against social movements and, more generally, the unheard-of strengthening of social conrtol, the fact that they are prolonging this situation after his sentence constitutes a real provocation from the court. We demand that Ahmed be released from solitary confinement and allowed visits.
We continue with the NoBorder network and the ensemble of the groups and individuals concerned to mobilize for:
Ahmed's liberation an end to the prosecutions against all the accused from the camp the closing of solitary confinement cells freedom of movement and of residence, against all forms of social control.
Free Ahmed!